A RESTUARANT in Dursley which received a zero out of five hygiene rating in August has seen the error in its ways and has been awarded a vastly-improved score.

Dursley Tandoori is the proud owner of a three out of five score, which means “generally satisfactory”, after Stroud District Council (SDC) returned to the Indian restaurant and saw things had improved.

Restaurant manager Harunul Shapon, who has run the establishment for 13 years, said the business had made an “honest mistake” when the food safety officer had initially visited and had rectified the problems within two weeks.

Mr Shapon, who lives in Nailsworth, added he had never received a complaint about the quality of his food from customers and wanted to reassure them the restaurant and kitchen were always kept to a high standard.

“The restaurant is called Dursley Tandoori, I do everything I can for the Dursley people and care about the Dursley people,” he said.

He added that when the officer had visited in August, he spoke with a new member of staff who had not yet been trained and so was unable to show the paperwork for where and how long food was kept, which lowered their score.

The restaurateur said he expected on the next visit by food safety officers to be awarded an even better score of four or five.

He admitted the business had suffered because of the Gazette’s report on food hygiene levels at eateries in the district in January.

“It’s been terrible, it’s been completely dead,” he said.

“I have not been able to pay a single person because there was no business. All the staff are suffering, everyone is suffering.”

After the previous story was published the Gazette received and published letters from loyal customers supporting the restaurant and its food.

Government body the Food Standards Agency uses a chart score of zero to five to rate establishments that supply food for their hygiene levels and is administered by local authorities, with five being the highest.

A spokesman for Stroud District Council said it was very pleased Dursley Tandoori had increased its rating to three after previously holding a good record before the dip in performance.

“It is a perfect case study for the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme as it highlights that making customers aware of a business’ hygiene score will encourage businesses to improve their standards,” he said.

“With the ratings now easily viewable on mobile phone apps it is more important than ever that businesses increase their scores to inspire confidence in their potential customers.”