Marcus Wareing said the poor hygiene report was due to a 'technicality'. He is appealing against the rating . He may be a two-star Michelin chef, but Marcus Wareing has scored just one out of five for kitchen hygiene by failing a routine inspection. The chef, who runs a restaurant at London’s five-star Berkeley Hotel, where diners are charged £115 for a dinner tasting menu, was criticised over the presence of fruit flies, warned of E.coli risks and told to buy a new vacuum-packing machine. Inspectors said pest control experts should be called in to control a ‘fly infestation’. The damning report three weeks ago, giving him just one star out of a possible five, represented a severe setback for Wareing, 43. He cooked for the Queen on her 80th birthday and his withering judgments on aspiring chefs have made him the star of the BBC’s Great British Menu series. But last night the chef hit back, insisting the Westminster City Council report highlighted a ‘technicality’ and that he would appeal against the rating. The Lancashire-born chef told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It is something that happened and we put it right. ‘We simply needed a vacuum-packing machine as we only had one. The FSA [Food Standards Agency] Guidance recommends two. We weren’t aware the regulations had changed last year. It was a technicality and we hold our hands up to it and purchased the new machine within a week.’ He added: ‘To go from five stars to one star just for that seems too radical, given my 25 years of kitchen experience. ‘If they were taking Michelin stars away like this, well, it’s quite scary. My kitchen is a bloody Rolls-Royce that has customers in it, on my chef’s table, daily. ‘Food safety, and the health of my team and customers, is not something I would knowingly jeopardise.’ A one-star rating translates as ‘major improvement necessary’ and represents a sharp decline in standards since the restaurant’s previous inspection in 2011, when it earned an exemplary five-star rating. Inspectors who visited the Marcus Wareing restaurant on June 5 cited ‘cross-contamination risks’ after seeing a vacuum-packing machine in the kitchen being used for both raw and cooked foods. The report said such equipment ‘cannot be effectively cleaned and disinfected in between use to eliminate the risks associated with pathogens such as E.coli’. Mr Waering has been told that pest control experts should be called to the five-star Berkeley Hotel to control the kitchen's 'fly infestation' Inspectors also noted the presence of ‘fruit flies in the ground kitchen’ and recommended management ‘seek the services of a qualified pest control technician’, as well as a lack of anti-bacterial soap, and staff washing their hands without soap. Embarrassingly, inspectors noted that at the time of their visit ‘raw fish was stored above cooked crab in the fish fridge’, one of the most basic health risks catering students are warned to avoid. The council inspectors also said  it ‘was very disappointing to note that the record-keeping had ceased since April 2013’. James Armitage, the council’s food safety manager, said: ‘Since the inspection we have revisited the restaurant to check compliance with the notice. From our last visit they had complied with the notice and we believe they are already well on the way to regaining their five stars.’ In 2006, Great British Menu viewers chose Wareing to cook his dessert of egg custard tart with Garibaldi biscuits for the Queen’s 80th birthday banquet.
53-year-old chef runs restaurant at London's five-star Berkeley Hotel .
Advised to call in pest control experts for 'fly infestation' and told to buy a new vacuum-packing machine .
Chef cooked for the Queen on her 80th birthday and is star of BBC's Great British Menu series .
Marcus Wareing said the poor hygiene report was due to a 'technicality'. He is appealing against the rating . He may be a two-star Michelin chef, but Marcus Wareing has scored just one out of five for kitchen hygiene by failing a routine inspection. The chef, who runs a restaurant at London’s five-star Berkeley Hotel, where diners are charged £115 for a dinner tasting menu, was criticised over the presence of fruit flies, warned of E.coli risks and told to buy a new vacuum-packing machine. Inspectors said pest control experts should be called in to control a ‘fly infestation’. The damning report three weeks ago, giving him just one star out of a possible five, represented a severe setback for Wareing, 43. He cooked for the Queen on her 80th birthday and his withering judgments on aspiring chefs have made him the star of the BBC’s Great British Menu series. But last night the chef hit back, insisting the Westminster City Council report highlighted a ‘technicality’ and that he would appeal against the rating. The Lancashire-born chef told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It is something that happened and we put it right. ‘We simply needed a vacuum-packing machine as we only had one. The FSA [Food Standards Agency] Guidance recommends two. We weren’t aware the regulations had changed last year. It was a technicality and we hold our hands up to it and purchased the new machine within a week.’ He added: ‘To go from five stars to one star just for that seems too radical, given my 25 years of kitchen experience. ‘If they were taking Michelin stars away like this, well, it’s quite scary. My kitchen is a bloody Rolls-Royce that has customers in it, on my chef’s table, daily. ‘Food safety, and the health of my team and customers, is not something I would knowingly jeopardise.’ A one-star rating translates as ‘major improvement necessary’ and represents a sharp decline in standards since the restaurant’s previous inspection in 2011, when it earned an exemplary five-star rating. Inspectors who visited the Marcus Wareing restaurant on June 5 cited ‘cross-contamination risks’ after seeing a vacuum-packing machine in the kitchen being used for both raw and cooked foods. The report said such equipment ‘cannot be effectively cleaned and disinfected in between use to eliminate the risks associated with pathogens such as E.coli’. Mr Waering has been told that pest control experts should be called to the five-star Berkeley Hotel to control the kitchen's 'fly infestation' Inspectors also noted the presence of ‘fruit flies in the ground kitchen’ and recommended management ‘seek the services of a qualified pest control technician’, as well as a lack of anti-bacterial soap, and staff washing their hands without soap. Embarrassingly, inspectors noted that at the time of their visit ‘raw fish was stored above cooked crab in the fish fridge’, one of the most basic health risks catering students are warned to avoid. The council inspectors also said  it ‘was very disappointing to note that the record-keeping had ceased since April 2013’. James Armitage, the council’s food safety manager, said: ‘Since the inspection we have revisited the restaurant to check compliance with the notice. From our last visit they had complied with the notice and we believe they are already well on the way to regaining their five stars.’ In 2006, Great British Menu viewers chose Wareing to cook his dessert of egg custard tart with Garibaldi biscuits for the Queen’s 80th birthday banquet.
inspection. The chef, who runs a restaurant at London’s five-star Berkeley Hotel, where diners warned of E.coli risks and told to buy a new 43. He cooked for the Queen on her 80th birthday have made him the star of the BBC’s Great British a vacuum-packing machine in the kitchen being pest control experts should be called to the