Every Cherwell food business with a September rating on the register got the top score of 5, from a Banbury hotel to a Hook Norton coffee van. The full list.
All 24 Cherwell food businesses whose September inspections are on the national register received the top food hygiene rating of 5, meaning “very good”.
They range from a Banbury town-centre hotel and a Ruscote chip shop to a coffee van at a Hook Norton surgery and a honey farm. Seven are in Banbury, five in Bicester and five in the Kidlington area. The other seven are in the villages.
The ratings come from the Food Standards Agency register for Cherwell, which we checked on 4 October. A business that disagrees with its rating has 21 days to appeal, so lower scores from September inspections can take longer to appear. This list could grow.
Banbury
- Blossom Pottery Cafe, The Studio, 18 South Bar Street (8 September)
- Uma Casa Portuguesa, rear of 13 to 14 South Bar Street (16 September)
- Cromwell Lodge Hotel, 9 to 11 North Bar Street (16 September)
- The Orchard Wraparound Care, at The Grange Community Primary School, Avocet Way (16 September)
- Jojos Dough on the go, OX16, address not published (17 September)
- Ruscote Fish Bar, 2 Ruscote Arcade, Longelandes Way (22 September)
- Sushi Daily, inside Waitrose, Southam Road (22 September)
Bicester
- Bruern Abbey School, Chesterton House, Chesterton (2 September)
- Grand Village Imperial, Unit E4, Bicester Shopping Park, Kelso Road (3 September)
- Bakes by Naimee, OX26, address not published (4 September)
- PaPizza & Shakes, Unit 23, Bicester Business Centre, Telford Road (9 September)
- Peanutandbliss, OX26, address not published (17 September)
Kidlington area
Kidlington is in Cherwell district, about 16 miles south of Banbury.
- The Teff Cake Company, OX5, address not published (7 September)
- Delish Foods, OX5, address not published (8 September)
- The Star, 6 Oxford Road, Kidlington (16 September)
- Peony Cake Design, OX5, address not published (18 September)
- Heathfield House Nursing Home, Heathfield (28 September)
The villages
- Bakes by Naimee, a second registration in OX25 (4 September)
- Raiwaqa, OX25, address not published (4 September)
- Park Farm Honey, OX15, address not published (10 September)
- Rhubarb Rhubarb Catering, Unit 19, Green Farm, Fritwell (15 September)
- The Barking Bean Cafe, a mobile caterer at White Hills Surgery, Hook Norton, about seven miles south-west of Banbury (17 September)
- Food by Verity, OX27, address not published (23 September)
- Fresh Start Catering, at Bloxham Church of England Primary School, Tadmarton Road, Bloxham (29 September)
The register leaves out the street address for many home-based caterers and bakers, giving only the postcode district. We have done the same.
How Cherwell compares
Most food businesses in the district already hold a 5. Of the 1,223 rated premises on Cherwell’s register, 992 have the top score. That is 81%.
At the other end, 23 premises in the district currently hold a rating of 2 or below. A rating of 2 means “improvement necessary” and 0 means “urgent improvement necessary”. A further 84 businesses are waiting for their first inspection.
What it means for you
- You can check any café, takeaway or caterer on the FSA ratings site before you order. Search by name or postcode.
- A rating reflects hygiene on the day of the inspection: cleanliness, food handling and how the business manages food safety. It is not a judgement on how good the food tastes.
- Businesses rated below 5 can ask the council for a re-visit once they have made improvements, so a low score need not be permanent.
We will publish a Cherwell food hygiene roundup each month from the FSA register.
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