New bar and restaurant in Morpeth fails hygiene check

However, bosses at Pleased to Meet You (PTMY) on Bridge Street say they have taken swift action and are confident of regaining the top rating.

The lowly score – posted on the Food Standards Agency website – was awarded following a visit from Northumberland County Council officers on January 10.

The ratings run from zero to five and one means 'major improvement is necessary'.

Pleased to Meet You, run by Crafted Projects (a division of the Ladhar Group), was opened in October 2021 after a major redevelopment of the former Queen’s Head.

Crafted Projects director Barry Ladhar said that PTMY Morpeth was awarded a five-star rating after an unannounced visit on November 3, 2021.

He added: “As a leading restaurant operator in the North East, we pride ourselves on running five-star kitchens. In addition to regular checks carried out at our premises by our compliance manager and executive chef, we employ an independent food safety consultant to carry out unannounced inspections of all of our kitchens to ensure our standards not only meet those required by food safety and hygiene regulations, but go beyond them.

“We were therefore hugely disappointed to have received a short-term downgrade to our food rating at PTMY subsequent to a visit from Northumberland County Council officers on January 10, 2022, when the kitchen was found not to be of the standard on which we pride ourselves.

“Following an internal investigation that day we found that, due to staff shortages and illness, the kitchen team were stretched and had not followed company procedures that morning.

“We concluded these shortcomings were unacceptable, leading to the head chef and other senior members of the kitchen team being immediately replaced.

“The concerns raised were rectified promptly and an application submitted to the council the following day, January 11, requesting the venue be reassessed.

“I’m pleased to advise that council officers attended on January 14 to review matters and meet the new head chef and, following an unannounced visit on February 10, commented that they could see that the kitchen was back to its initial five-star standard.

“We still await the council’s formal assessment, but have no doubt that our five-star rating will be reinstated in line with the assessment of our independent consultant.

“Ladhar Group has invested heavily in the development of the former Queen’s Head and is very much committed to Morpeth, with our function suites due to open in March and our hotel rooms later in the year.

“It is frustrating to receive negative publicity, which undermines all the hard work put in by our management and staff, but we can assure all our customers – over 150,000 through our doors since opening – that we are committed to maintaining the quality that our brand is known for and in delivering on our promise of ensuring that this venue is something of which our neighbours, customers and the wider county can be immensely proud.”