Fowey pub slapped with bad hygiene rating blames 'jobsworth' inspector

A centuries-old pub with hundreds of positive reviews has put its zero food hygiene rating down to structural issues. The Ship Inn, in Fowey, was slapped with a zero out of five rating following an inspection earlier this year - the worst you can get.

The St Austell brewery-owned pub was told to make "urgent" improvements as a result of the unannounced visit from an environmental health officer at Cornwall Council on June 25, 2024. It still has a zero hygiene rating now and Cornwall Council says it cannot comment on the situation "at this time".

The pub, on Trafalgar Square, was built in 1570 by John Rashleigh but it is believed the building may have been a merchant's house dating back to the 1400s and is reportedly one of the oldest in Fowey.

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Those in charge were told to make 'major' improvements in relation to hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage and the cleanliness and condition of facilities and buildings.

The most serious problems identified were related to the management of food safety and needed 'urgent' action. This is the system or checks 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 having confidence that standards will be maintained in future.

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A spokesperson for the pub told CornwallLive that all the issues were structural and were fixed as soon as possible. CornwallLive also understands the pub was closed temporarily to the public at the time.

The landlord said he had to get St Austell Brewery in to make repairs to the building due to its age but said this was done within one week. He said: "We had issues with building works which was all done when they said it had to be done by. It's an old building at 600 years old."

He also claimed the officer who inspected the site was overly critical. "He was a jobsworth and has made my life a misery since June," he said. "The brewery actually came around from St Austell Brewery and sorted everything within a week."

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The pub has hundreds of glowing reviews across platforms like Google Reviews, Tripadvisor and Facebook and is the best-rated in the entire area. One reads: "On a trip to explore the south of Cornwall we decided to try this lovely pub and were glad we did. The staff were polite and helpful as was the good quality of the food in particular the macaroni bites and spicy sauce. Hope to visit again next year."

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has however made it clear in the past that inspections in conjunction with the local authority do not assess the quality of the food, customer service, culinary skill, presentation or comfort.

Environmental health officers instead assess the parts of a business that members of the public do not see. This includes handling of food, how food is stored, how food is prepared, cleanliness of facilities and how food safety is managed. More on that below in our fact box about food hygiene ratings. Businesses can also appeal the rating and ask for a re-inspection.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: "Cornwall Council is unable to comment on matters regarding the Ship Inn, Fowey, at this time." The local authority does not comment on individual employees so would not comment on the claims about the environmental health officer.

CornwallLive has requested the full contents of the inspection report from Cornwall Council under the Freedom of Information Act. It can take up to 20 working days for the report to be released to us.

A spokesperson for St Austell Brewery said: “We are working with our business partner, who is responsible for the day to day running of The Ship, to ensure that their rescore will better reflect the quality offer at the pub.

“Within 24 hours of the initial inspection, remedial works were underway. The business is awaiting a reinspection, which has been scheduled in for some time.”