AN AWARD-winning chef has been forced to shut his luxury food truck, which sold £16 lobster subs, after a £2,000 fine over raw fish and meat.
Jamie O’Leary, 42, ran JOL’s Food Truck in Ogmore-by-Sea, Wales, for three years before he was found guilty of 23 illegal hygiene offences.
The chef, who trained under TV cook Stephen Terry and previously won a British Street Food award, was acclaimed for his street food.
His signature Lobster Thermidor Sub served with a garlic and lemon pangrattato (breadcrumb mixture) and chips was a particular hit with seaside punters.
But he has now been ordered to pay the £2,283.75 worth of council costs, and fined a further £344, after appearing in court for the offences.
Jamie plead guilty to 17 of the charges in August.
The court case followed several failed health inspections by the Vale of Glamorgan Council.
Inspectors initially discovered a “blatant disregard for food safety” at the bright yellow food van – giving it a damning food hygiene rating of zero.
Then, on May 30 last year, an Environmental Health Officer visited the premises, where they found defrosting raw fish in the wash hand basin with an open packet of raw mince on top of the fish.
Raw liquid egg was found in a container inside the sink, while equipment was being cleaned on a gastronome tray placed on the car park floor.
A surface was also being used for raw meat and ready-to-eat foods without correct cleaning and disinfection.
Kitchen equipment was also described as being grimy, mucky walls, the ventilation system and grill was thick with grease.
And Jamie was served an Action Notice preventing the fridge from being used and its content was surrendered as it was considered unfit for human consumption.
Meanwhile, the council said there was no documented food safety management system available for the food business.
When the officer returned two days later, some improvements had been made but the premises and equipment were still dirty and hygiene training had not been not competed.
Further visits to the van found that the equipment remained in a dirty condition and the hygiene rating was still not on display.
A Fixed Penalty Notice was then served – which has never been paid, according to the council.
Cardiff Magistrates’ Court heard the offences occurred due to Jamie’s lack of attention, as well as an untrained member of staff.
The chef had become “distracted” due to personal circumstances.
At the sentencing, judge Stephen Harmes told the court: “At this time in his life he was in distress and his record is exemplary.
“The whole point of being a judge is to judge and my view is that we will never see him here again.”
The judge said he did not believe the crimes warranted a jail term.
The court also heard that Jamie’s business had closed so any risk to the public had ended – and he is now working as a chef for an unnamed agency, earning between £350 and £400 a week.
After the case concluded Councillor Ruba Sivagnanam, Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for community engagement, equalities and regulatory services, said: “Hygiene ratings are important.
“They refer to the standards and behaviours within a business and are a key reference for customers.
“Food outlets need to satisfy a range of specific criteria to gain each rating, from one to five.
“There are no shortcuts to achieving this – it requires a commitment to good practice.
“This business was given a rating of zero after inspectors found numerous various hygiene violations over a sustained period of time.
“Hygiene ratings are vital assessments of food outlets and anyone found to be doctoring or hiding them will also face serious consequences.”
JOL’s started off as a bricks-and-mortar restaurant before being relaunched as a food truck in 2021.
