A restuarant boss has been ordered to pay nearly £6,500 in fines and costs for running an Ipswich takeway with a dirty kitchen.
Debris, food, grease and grim were discovered on the floor, work surfaces, and appliances at the Fortune Inn in Woodbridge Road, by Ipswich Borough Council food hygiene officers during two visits in three days.
Even after issuing a warning to Rong Zhang, the kitchen was still in a mess when officers returned to the Chinese takeway two days later to carry out a second check.
Zhang, of Woodbridge Road, Ipswich - who is described as the food business operator - pleaded guilty to four hygiene offences when she appeared before South East Suffolk Magistrates Court.
The borough council officers visited the premises on January 9 to carry out a routine inspection. They then returned on January 11.
Photographs were taken showing the state of some areas of the kitchen.
Zhang was fined £350 for each of the four offences she admitted.
She was also ordered to pay the borough council’s cost of bringing the case which came to £5,000.
In addition Zhang was also ordered to pay £30 towards the victims’ fund.
After the case a spokesman for Ipswich Borough Council said: “The business currently has a food hygiene rating of zero.
“We did a number of advisory visits to try to help them with their systems but to no effect. They were given 48 hours on the January 9th to get cleaned up and pictures were taken on that day.
“On our return on the 11th there was virtually no change - as pictures from that day also show.
“We don’t take court action unless really necessary, but when we do the magistrates clearly take it seriously.
“This is now our third such court case in last few months.
“Our focus this year is to target persistent poor performers and especially those with poor food hygiene ratings.
“We use a range of measures to gain compliance and it is likely that will involve more court appearances for businesses who we have failed to persuade of their legal responsibilities in the past.”
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