The White Pheasant receives one-star hygiene rating

The White Pheasant, off of Fakenham Road, was slapped with a one-star food hygiene rating by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The venue, formerly known as the Lenwade House Hotel, was told it required "major improvement" for how it managed food safety during the inspection on August 16.

However the owner of the hotel, Dean Critoph, claims the poor rating is thanks to a fed-up employee taking relevant paperwork prior to the inspection.

The White Pheasant, off Fakenham Road, in Lenwade (Image: Newsquest)

He said: "The only reason we got one-star rating is because we had a disgruntled chef leave.

"He took all the paperwork with him, because he knew what would happen to our rating by doing that.

"So, as we didn't have any paperwork at the time of the inspection, the FSA had to give us one-star." 

On the FSA website the hotel was deemed "generally satisfactory" regarding the way it handled its food.

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However it said that the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building required improvement.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the venue required major improvement for its management of food safety (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Critoph added: "The FSA is coming back in a couple of weeks' time and we have all the relevant paperwork now.

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"So I'm confident the next inspection there will be no problems at all."

The hotel reopened in February 2021 after shutting a year earlier amid financial difficulties which saw staff, and couples who had paid deposits for weddings, left in the lurch.

Mr Critoph has previously been involved with running several local pubs such as the Parson Woodforde, Weston Longville, the Fox & Hounds, in Lyng, and the Ratcatchers, in Cawston.

Owner Dean Critoph said he was confident the next inspection there will be no problems (Image: Newsquest)