A kebab shop in Chesham called Abra Kebab Ra which received the lowest food hygiene rating possible after a customer fell ill has been given a new score.

Abra Kebab Ra, a takeaway kebab shop on Broad Street in Chesham, was judged to require urgent improvement when it received a zero out of five food hygiene rating in an inspection dated November 10, 2023.

A routine inspection had been due in February 2024 but was brought forward after a confirmed case of illness related to food consumed from the takeaway.

In the food safety report, an inspector drew attention to the unhygienic food storage and preparation practices behind the counter, including a donor kebab shaving machine that was "dirty and clogged with grease".

They also noted an apparent lack of food hygiene training and handwashing among staff, who were wearing dirty aprons whilst preparing raw chicken during the visit.

Raw meat preparation also appeared to take place in the only sink in the kebab shop's kitchen, with the inspector expressing no confidence that the surface was sufficiently cleaned or disinfected before being used for other purposes. 

Plastic storage containers for both chilled and dry goods were also "visually dirty", regular temperature checks for fridges and freezers on-site had lapsed some months ago and donor kebabs were being stored "on a piece of dirty cardboard on the floor of the walk-in chiller".

The report summarised that there was "a general lack of good safety practices and controls" at the takeaway, which suggested "a lack of knowledge and implementation, plus poor management".

On January 15, Abra kebab ra was re-inspected and received a three rating. This means inspectors find the business 'generally satisfactory'.

Our reporter James Richings reviewed the takeaway for himself on January 16, visiting the business to see why it scored so poorly. Read all about it here. 

He described how a big bag of frozen chips "was pretty much lying on the kitchen floor, and these were the ones he put in the fryer for me to eat."

When he asked a staff member at the time why they have a zero food rating, he told him that it was "down to ‘the books".