A football club that was told “major improvement was necessary” after its food hygiene inspection has turned to a café for help.
In results published this week, Kings Langley AFC at The Orbital Fasteners Stadium in Hempstead Road was given a 1/5 score following its July 19 inspection.
Club secretary Derry Edgar told the Watford Observer that improving the rating will be a priority for the club.
Inspectors assess three areas during the inspection.
The club’s lowest grading was for the management of food safety, which was graded 'major improvement necessary'.
In this category, inspectors evaluate if there are systems or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat.
Staff are also expected to know about food safety and the hygiene officer must have confidence that standards will be maintained in the future.
The area of cleanliness and condition of facilities and the building, which cover hand washing facilities and pest control, was rated as 'improvement necessary'.
But the club did receive a higher grade of 'good' for hygienic food handling that covers food preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage.
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Mr Edgar said the club is “disappointed” in the rating.
He added: “We are a voluntary organisation, not a commercial one, but we nevertheless fully accept the report's findings and take our responsibilities in providing a safe catering environment very seriously.”
In a bid to improve the rating, the club has called upon an award-winning eatery based in Kings Langley’s Hempstead Road.
Mr Edgar said: “The club has taken immediate measures to remedy the situation by commissioning expert personnel from local catering outlet The Kitchen at Inspire to review the club's catering operation with a view to attaining top-rated compliance.
“The Kitchen has achieved more than a decade of five-star ratings and the club is confident our collaboration with them will achieve similar results.”
In July, The Kitchen at Inspire won the ‘Best Boutique Coffee Shop 2023 – Hertfordshire SME Customer Service Excellence Award’ in the UK Enterprise Awards 2023.
“The club will be treating the improvement programme as an absolute priority and will be inviting a re-inspection, at the club's own expense, at the earliest opportunity,” said Mr Edgar.
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