The Chamber Restaurant

     We appreciate the diligence and thoroughness of the inspection process and would like to address the findings outlined in the inspection report.

First and foremost, we take the matter of food safety very seriously, and we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of hygiene in our establishment. We acknowledge the areas identified for improvement and would like to assure you that immediate corrective actions are being or have been implemented.

The restaurant has undergone a massive modernisation renovation before opening, which concentrated mainly on the front of house of the premises. The restaurant was inherited in a fairly bad state from the previous ownership and required extensive works front and back of house. The kitchen is relatively a large one, with various storage spaces making it a bit more difficult to manage.

The restaurant has taken on mainly new staff in the kitchen and immediately prior to the inspection, we had a change in chefs. The outgoing chef was in charge of the kitchen management system and introducing it. During the time of the inspection, the inspection took place during the new chefs induction week as she was taking over the management system.

In addition to this, when the inspection took place, we were midway through installing new kitchen equipment to improve it. Prior to the inspection, the kitchen was fully cleaned and then repainted ahead of a planned canopy ventilation installation. This was delayed by some weeks due to the supplier. As a result, during the inspection, a lot of the walls, doors, kitchen ceilings appeared dirty which was caused by the excess fumes due to a lack of adequate ventilation. This has been addressed now and ventilation is good.

At the time of the inspection, we were also awaiting new industrial cleaning products. These have now arrived, allowing us to clean the kitchen to a higher standard due to the high quality of the products.

With regards to cleaning hand contacts, this has taken place, although there was a differing opinion with the inspector. The surfaces and internal areas of the fridges have been cleaned.

The wooden equipment found in the freezer has been removed and disposed of.

All excess cardboard in the storage area has been removed and disposed of.

We were midway through prep and service when inspectors visited and as a result, a few used cloths were found. This can’t really be helped during a service, given the nature of the business. The cloths are regularly cleaned and replaced frequently. It’s impossible to keep a used cloth spotless. We have large blue/white single use rolls that are used to clean the kitchen that we believe the inspector may have missed. We also have disposable cloths that the inspector missed.

The ceiling tiles in the back room have now been replaced with new ones and any broken ones removed and replaced.

The kitchen ceiling being ‘dirty’ was as a result of the previous fumes from lack of ventilation.

Wall coverings in the back storage room have since been cleaned.

The two hole patches will be covered adequately.

The floor on the back door exit, the pallet has been removed and cleaned under. This was caused by Northumbrian Water who incorrectly broke the tiled flooring prior to the restaurant opening to access the drain. This was then left in a messy way. This door is often used for deliveries therefore is difficult to keep tidy and clean at all times. It has since been cleaned thoroughly and we will try our best to maintain.

The floor in the back storeroom has been repaired now with new flooring.

The kitchen window again was freshly painted then became dirty at the time of inspection due to the lack of ventilation which has since been rectified. They are fume stains rather than being unclean, as they are regularly wiped down but the stains don’t remove.

Same as above for the Kitchen WC, this has since been repainted.

Wash hand basin has been incorrectly marked as broken, inspector revisited and was made aware of this.

As mentioned above, ventilation has been addressed is more than adequate. Filters have been added and are regularly cl