A LUXURY Newport business has received top marks in its first food hygiene rating, after being open for only a month.
Luxury British chocolatier Hotel Chocolat in Newport's Spytty Retail Park officially received the exciting news this month just two weeks after their opening date.
Store manager Claire Lewis, 44, said it felt "fantastic" to achieve a 5 rating for the store's food hygiene.
She added: "The whole team had to undergo a lot of training before the store could open.
"We have all achieved level 2 in food safety and hygiene and also had further training regarding Allergens and Allergens in retail."
The store manager at the store on Spytty Road said it was a team effort, explaining that the achievement took "a lot of work" but the team were "hugely supported by store manager Charlotte Davies and her team at the Talbot Green store."
Ms Lewis then said: "Most of our team, were trained at the Talbot Green store for a month before the opening of our store in Newport Retail Park."
Food hygiene inspection
Hotel Chocolat in Newport was given a score of 'Very Good' for hygienic food handling which includes proper preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage.
The luxury chocolatier was given 'Good' for both the cleanliness and condition of facilities and building as well as the management of food safety.
The food safety officer that visited the site mentions that checks are in place "to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future."
Ms Lewis, store manager at Hotel Chocolat added: "We take our responsibilities to the public very seriously and all team members follow a strict food hygiene and cleaning plan every day.
"Our café area undergoes a two-hour deep cleaning process once a week, where all our machinery is stripped and given a thorough clean and is sanitised.
"We love our new store and are extremely proud of hygiene rating."
Concept store at Newport Retail Park
The concept store for the luxury chocolate brand opened on Thursday, March 21.
When asked what customers think of the new concept store, Ms Lewis said: "Customers or guests, as we prefer to say at Hotel Chocolat, have given us a fantastic reception, it’s been very positive so far and we already have regular guests which is lovely to see.
"People are also happily surprised to find out that we are dog friendly and the team love having visits from furry guests.
"We are looking forward to the summer and have already started serving our new seasonal ice cream instore.
"VIPME customers get 20% off all ice creams and hot or cold drinks from our café."
Hotel Chocolat
Unit 11F
Newport Retail Park
Spytty Road
Newport
NP19 4QQ
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