About those UK chefs, a café who flouted hygiene and safety rules has been slapped with a £20,000 fine.

The Crown Café, in Southchurch Road, Southend, were fined after Hygiene Improvement Notices and one Health and Safety Improvement Notice were not acted upon.

During an inspection at the Crown Café in August 2015, a Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner from Southend Council found the café had no wash hand basin for hand washing only in the kitchen, no documented food safety management system to ensure the safe production of foods and a lack of maintenance to the electrical installation at the café.

As a result, two Hygiene Improvement Notices and one Health and Safety Improvement Notice were served on The Crown Café/ Bistro Limited for the attention of the owner, Agneska De’Ath (nee Janaszek).

Subsequent visits to the café on September 15 and 18 found the improvement notices had not been acted upon. 

Ms De’Ath (nee Janaszek), who is the director of the Crown Café/ Bistro Limited, and her limited company were found guilty at Southend Magistrates Court on September 14 for two food hygiene offences and one health and safety offence, which occurred at the Crow Café.

Magistrates heard the evidence given by Ms Janaszek and found her and her limited company guilty to three offences.