City pub hit with £950 bill for ‘dirty equipment’

Janette Garrard, licensee of the Punch Bowl pub in Lowther Street, York, was fined £100 and ordered to pay £817.58 in costs plus a £30 statutory surcharge at York Magistrates’ Court on 30 January 2018.

During an inspection of the pub, food hygiene officers found failings including dried food stuck to kitchen worktops and dirty food preparation equipment. They also found mould and limescale in the ice machine.

The bar’s mixer dispenser was gummed up with old syrup and the bar furniture and equipment was dirty.

Littered floor

The cellar had litter across the floor and staircase while the toilets for staff and customers were dirty, stained and smelled unpleasant.

As a result, the pub was awarded a zero rating under the food hygiene rating scheme for meaning urgent improvement was necessary.

At a repeat inspection on 19 May 2017, Garrard said she was continuing to provide food at darts matches. While some areas of the pub kitchen were cleaner, a number of poor standards remained.

Garrard, 60, who lives at the pub, pleaded guilty to three hygiene regulation breaches.

Hygiene practices

In mitigation, she said she didn’t cook for customers but bought in food for events. She added that staff had not left the kitchen clean and tidy while she was away on holiday so she had stopped them using it. She also said the works in the cellar had been disputed between her and the pub owners.

York City Council leader David Carr said: “The vast majority of food businesses in the city follow safe and proper hygiene practices.

“This pub has been given advice and opportunities to improve, which it needs to follow. Customers need to be confident of the food they buy and I am glad the court has recognised this.”

The Morning Advertiser ​attempted to contact the Punch Bowl but had not received a response at the time of publication.