Trio Mezze in York jumps from two to five star food hygiene

Trio Mezze Tapas Bar, on Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, was awarded a food hygiene rating of five, meaning the standards were 'very good', following a reinspection carried out by City of York Council on March 10. 

The restaurant previously told The Press that before the initial inspection, in which they received a two star rating on January 19, meaning improvements were necessary, they opted for a dummy inspection before the real one, in which they also received a five star rating.

The restaurant said that the dummy inspection cost £300.

Trio Mezze Picture: NQ staff

• READ MORE:York restaurant challenges council after updated hygiene rating​

Taylan Ozer, co-owner of Trio Mezze said: "The previous two star rating was due to a miscommunication issue with the inspector and the chef who couldn't explain himself and did not speak good English.

"This time, me and my business partner were there, and were were very confident about an improved rating."

Trio Mezze had previously explained to The Press that they change registered chefs every one to two weeks.

Anthony Dean, acting public protection manager at the council,previously told The Press: "We find that businesses that take part in these pre-hygiene visits generally do much better in their actual inspections.

"These visits are entirely voluntary, and undertaken on cost recovery basis, but the feedback from businesses is that they are very helpful."

• READ MORE: Drop in hygiene standards at York food businesses, say inspectors

The reinspection report stated that the restaurant had improved in all of the categories.

The report said that Trio Mezze scored 'Very Good' in the categories of structural compliance, which refers to the facilities and layout of the restaurant, and the confidence in management.

This means that the inspector found a high standard of compliance with the statutory obligations and the restaurant conformed to good practices in the trade.

In their first inspection, the structural compliance was rated 'Good', and the confidence in management was rated 'Generally Satisfactory'.

The food hygiene and safety category, which refers to the food handling procedures, was rated 'Good', meaning that the inspector found minor instances of non-compliance but the restaurant had an overall high standard of compliance.