New Swindon restaurant hit with 'unfair' food hygiene rating

The King's Bite, which specialises in Afro-Caribbean food, was told major improvement was necessary after an inspection on January 4 returned a score of one out of five.

Emmanuel Turay set up The King's Fade on Cricklade Road in July 2018 and launched The King's Bite after the empty unit next to it became available last October.

The 38-year-old works in the barbers on its busiest days of Thursday to Saturday then cooks up dishes like goat curry, beef stew and jerk wings from Monday to Wednesday.

Council inspectors found the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building were considered to be generally satisfactory, but improvement is said to be needed in terms of hygienic food handling, and major improvement is necessary with regards to management of food safety.

Mr Turay blamed this result on a key document being unavailable for the inspector to see as it had been moved out of the building while the restaurant was being cleaned, on a hand soap dispenser being empty, and on a pot of rice that had been left to cool before being refrigerated which the inspector told him to throw in the bin instead.

Emmanuel added: "It is unfair. Food safety is very important to me. I have all the documents, I'm going through Level 3 training, and I keep folders to check the fridge temperature, cleaning rotas, allergy information, everything.

"The inspectors are due to return very soon. I have everything ready and this will be sorted out."

The kitchen area in The King's Bite restaurant (Image: Newsquest)

A temporary kitchen is in place while arrangements are being made for the installation of an industrial kitchen which will allow a wider variety of meals to be prepared.

Emmanuel has applied for an alcohol licence with the hope of one day being able to serve booze in the restaurant while playing live sport on TVs.

He said: "I'm a young man and I'm ambitious, so when this opportunity came up from my landlord, I wanted to grab it and try something new.

"I opened The King's Bite two weeks before my wedding day, I've put a lot of money into this and it's something I'm really looking forward to making it a success.

"My friends have supported me and I joined Just Eat to encourage more people to come in."

Reviews on the delivery website are mostly positive, praising the "delicious" dishes and good service.