Southampton chip shop's 'new start' after one star rating

Ashraful Chowdhury, or Ash, is promising the best quality of food at his takeaway five months after it was slammed by the Food Standards Agency.

The 43-year-old was planning to give up his job as an IT teacher at Peter Symonds College in Winchester in September, to take over the Phat Chip Company, a fish and chip takeaway, on Lodge Road.

He planned to spend less time working and more with his family after his second child was born last year.

However, he was asked to carry on working for the Sixth Form until December, leaving his staff working in the takeaway during the day while he did evening shifts at the eatery.

Ash said he had never worked in the hospitality sector before and did not understand the importance of hygiene ratings in the industry, and in December the restaurant was slapped with a one star hygiene rating.

Inside the the Phat Chip Company on Lodge Road (Image: Newsquest)

READ MORE: Southampton fish and chip shop told it must clean up in hygiene report

Speaking to the Daily Echo, Ash said: “On the day of the inspection, the guy I had working at the time was new and so he just said ‘I don’t know’ when the inspectors asked about temperatures and things.

“We were following the procedures, but he was quite scared at the time of the inspection because I wasn’t here as I was home with chicken pox.

“I was quite stressed at the time with the job situation, so when I got the one rating, I became even more stressed.”

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After a recent inspection on April 19, the Food Standards Agency gave the restaurant a three out of five rating, which means the hygiene standards are generally satisfactory.

But now, Ash is promising to change things and is working day and night to be able to bring the restaurant back to a five rating, which means the hygiene standards are ‘very good’.

Ashraful Chowdhury, or Ash, in the Phat Chip Company on Lodge Road (Image: Newsquest)

Speaking to the Echo, Ash said: “After the [negative] rating I made sure everything was clean and followed the health and safety precautions.

“I worked hard to make sure my staff were doing everything they should and washing their hands according to the instructions.”

The dad of two is appealing to the customer base to return to the restaurant after changes were made in the practice, something which he’s calling “a new start”.