The Admiral Hornblower in Oakham, Rutland told major improvements necessary after food hygiene inspection

Staff at a pub which recently reopened after a fire have blamed a missing piece of equipment for a 1-star food hygiene rating.

The Admiral Hornblower in Oakham requires major improvements, according to a food hygiene inspector who visited the pub last month.

This is a significant drop from its previous 'very good' 5-star rating.

The food hygiene officer carried out their inspection on October 3, three weeks after the pub reopened. It had been closed for seven months after an accidental fire broke out in the kitchen and caused considerable damage to the pub and restaurant.

Management of food safety - which includes system or checks in place to ensure food is safe to eat and evidence that staff know about food safety - was found to need major improvements.

Hygienic food handling including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage also needed improvements while the cleanliness and condition of facilities were considered good.

A spokesperson for The Admiral Hornblower said the pub has always had a five-star food hygiene rating and the safety of customers is of ‘paramount importance’.

They added: “When the inspector visited, the main issue was that we were waiting for a new piece of kitchen equipment to arrive.

“Without it, such a finding can affect a food hygiene rating and lead to a business being required to make improvements.

"The equipment arrived the day after the initial inspection and the inspector returned and confirmed the necessary actions had been taken, and that there was no need to take any further action and they were happy overall with the inspection.

"We are currently waiting for an inspector to return to re-inspect the kitchen and are expecting a five-star rating once more."

Update: On the day this article was published The Admiral Hornblower was revisited by a food hygiene inspector.

It has now regained its five-star food hygiene rating.