AN Ellesmere Port takeaway owner has narrowly avoided being sent to jail over a catalogue of hygiene failings at his restaurant.

Hasan Gazi, 65, was owner of the Taste and Smile takeaway in Rossmore Road West, a place where council environmental health officers discovered a "disgusting" kitchen environment and a chopping board so thick with grime they could – and did – write their initials in the dirt.

Gazi pleaded guilty to 23 offences as a business owner and a further 23 offences on behalf of Taste and Smile Ltd, at an earlier court hearing.

The numerous offences related to failing to register as a food business owner with Cheshire West and Chester Council and a large number of hygiene failings at the takeaway from three different visits by council environmental health officers in 2019 and early 2020.

Each time, officers would find conditions in the kitchen environment at Taste and Smile to be disgusting, with filthy food preparation areas and food being stored in incorrect places and at incorrect temperatures.

The third set of those offences, in February 2020, happened the day before Gazi was due to appear before magistrates, leading an unimpressed Judge Steven Everett, Honorary Recorder of Chester Crown Court, to say Gazi had effectively "put two fingers up to the court" by failing to comply with earlier requirements.

Judge Everett added, if people were aware of the "disgusting" hygiene conditions: "This isn't meant to be a quip, but you would not have called it Taste and Smile, you would have called it Taste and Grimace."

But Gazi, appearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, June 10, had found himself "incapable" of running the business and had "struggled" as his wife had left the company to focus on full-time care for their children, one of them autistic, defence solicitor Michael Gray explained.

The takeaway was now closed.

Prosecuting, Ryan Rothwell said the three sets of offences happened on January 15, 2019 – when 11 offences were recorded, August 21, 2019 – when five offences were recorded, and February 18, 2020 – when seven offences were recorded.

They all happened during routine inspections by environmental health officers.

The first inspection saw officers note dirty floors, doors, toilets, oven, wash basin and other areas. Mould was detected and almost everything was covered in food debris or grease.

Raw chicken had been stored in the fridge next to cooked chicken.

Taste and Smile was given a zero-star food hygiene rating and it closed while it cleaned the place up.

The next day officers revisited Taste and Smile and conditions were notably better, so the place was allowed to reopen.

Taste and Smile late received a three-star rating on May 23.

But when officers visited in August, things had deteriorated. They were greeted with a foul odour in the kitchen and rancid raw chicken was found in the fridge.

Three tubs of mayonnaise had been stored at too warm a temperature.

Gazi had still failed to register as a food business operator.

Despite the failings, the business was allowed to remain open and given a two-star rating.

On the third visit, officers were struck by how poor standards were, finding a doner meat stick way below the recommended temperature, greasy cardboard was found and the place was dirty.

Interviewed with the help of an interpreter, Gazi could not explain why the takeaway was dirty, but accepted the offences.

He had two previous convictions for six offences, with four of those offences for hygiene failings at Delight Pizza's and Kebabs, the same takeaway before it rebranded to Taste and Smile in 2012. On that occasion, mice were discovered on the premises.

Defending, Mr Gray said after Gazi's wife became a full-time carer for their children, Gazi had struggled to find staff to help him at the takeaway and the business had effectively failed, with nothing of value left in the company.

Gazi was now out of the food business, after 20 years, and was on disability living allowance.

Judge Everett remarked that Gazi, after travelling to the UK from his native Turkey, had been a maths teacher before becoming a modern languages teacher in London.

"This is an intelligent man," Judge Everett added.

Mr Gray added that while the offences crossed the custody threshold, Gazi was capable of unpaid work if the sentence was suspended.

"It is a great shame that, at the end of a great career, he faces the prospect of going to custody," Mr Gray added.

Judge Everett, sentencing Gazi, said it was a "disgusting set of offences".

He added: "The public has a right to to be reassured that food and takeaways they purchase are safe to eat.

"It's a close-run thing, but I am prepared to give you a chance."

Gazi was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

He must carry out 150 hours unpaid work.

A Hygiene Prohibition Order until further order means Gazi is banned from working in the food business.