A YORK restaurant has been told that improvements are necessary after receiving two stars following a food hygiene inspection.
La Vecchia Scuola, an Italian restaurant on Low Petergate, was given a food hygiene rating of two stars, meaning that improvements are needed, following a City of York Council inspection on March 1.
However the restaurant has told The Press that the inspection came at a 'bad time' as the restaurant was experiencing some mishaps on the day.
A spokesperson for La Vecchia Scuola said: "A combination of a lot of things meant the day of the inspection was bad timing.
"On the day of the inspection, one of the boilers had gone out on the day so the sinks didn't have hot water, and we had sent an electrician to come out.
"The bin collection wasn't done as normal the night before so the bins were overflowing.
"There was some flaking on the ceiling in the kitchen due to the old building which has been addressed.
"The manager was on a day off that day, and the assistant manager couldn't find the paperwork needed.
"Nothing was a risk to anyone's health so we are surprised at this rating, and have applied for a reinspection."
As previously reported in The Press, Anthony Dean, public protection manager at the council, said: "Businesses are required to pay for these additional rescore visits to ensure that City of York Council has sufficient resources to carry out all programmed food hygiene inspections and ensure fairness for all businesses in York.
“Where a business feels that their score is incorrect they can ask questions of the inspecting officer, and, if still concerned by the score awarded, lodge an appeal.
"All food hygiene inspections are carried out by professionally qualified officers who follow guidance issued by the Food Standards Agency."
The inspection report has stated that improvements were necessary with the food hygiene and safety category of the inspection, which refers to the restaurant's food handling procedures and temperature control.
This means that the inspector found that some instances of non-compliance with the statutory obligations, and more effort was needed to prevent a fall in standards.
However the inspector found that both the structural compliance, referring to the facilities and layout of the restaurant, and the confidence in management of the food safety and hygiene practices, were generally satisfactory.
This means that the inspector was satisfied with the record of compliance in both of these categories.
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