A PUBLICAN with a 40-year-long spotless record of catering experience has been ordered to pay £8,360 after pleading guilty to running a dirty kitchen.

Angela Jarvis, 63, leases the Horse and Jockey in Steynton and is responsible for the catering side of the pub’s business.

She was due to stand trial on seven of nine food hygiene-related charges at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday (January 20), having earlier admitted failing to carry out food safety measures required by law and failing to provide adequate hand washing facilities at the inn.

But at the last minute Jarvis pleaded guilty to seven charges - including failing to keep the pub’s kitchen and food preparation equipment clean – and two charges against her were dismissed.

Lee Reynolds, prosecuting on behalf of Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC), said problems in the Horse and Jockey’s kitchen were discovered during a routine Environmental Health inspection in August 2013.

“The Environmental Health officer walked in to the kitchen and immediately saw it was very dirty,” said Mr Reynolds.

“She asked John Jarvis (the defendant’s son) why the kitchen was so dirty and he said they ‘hardly did any food’.”

The officer pointed out leftover food and dirty pans, and John Jarvis admitted he had prepared food the previous evening for a pool team.

The Officer proceeded to take photographs, copies of which were handed to the court.

“Items pictured included a dirty deep fat fryer and cooker, encrusted with grease on the outside, dirty equipment in sinks and handwash basins, dirty microwaves, dirty surfaces, and dirty cupboards containing food,” said Mr Reynolds.

“The bin had not been emptied and was attracting flies. The floor was sticky to the touch. Tiled walls and window sills were splashed with food, and were dirty and sticky. Hand contact surfaces, such as handles and light switches, were visibly smeared with dirt. There were thick cobwebs on the ceiling. Extractor fan filters were dripping with grease.”

Mrs Jarvis told the officer she had suffered an accident at the start of the year and could no longer work in the kitchen. She said a girl had been coming in during the week to clean but her husband, Peter, had been responsible for the cooking.

Mrs Jarvis then said that the kitchen was closed for redecorating, and they weren’t serving food at all. The officer noted there was a “considerable amount of food” in the kitchen, considering it was supposed to be closed.

Nor did the area appear ready to be decorated.

Jarvis was not able to provide the officer with the required food safety-related records when asked, and claimed they were stored on a computer.

“When the officer returned some days later for a second inspection, the standards of cleanliness had considerably improved,” said Mr Reynolds. “Jarvis handed in hand-written food safety records, suggesting they had never been on the computer.”

A large quantity of food was found in the kitchen and Jarvis contradicted herself over who it was for and where it was made.

“She told the officer she was on so many painkillers for her injuries she didn’t know what she was saying,” Mr Reynolds recounted.

A third inspection of the premises in January 2014 found wash hand basins had tepid rather than hot water, and a large pan of gravy Peter Jarvis, the defendant’s husband, had prepared the previous evening was on the hob and had not been refrigerated. He admitted he would have served it to customers.

“Overall the conditions were better than in the August, but were still not acceptable,” Mr Reynolds told the Magistrates.

James Hartson, defending, said Jarvis was “embarrassed and devastated” by what had happened.

“She has provided me with receipts from August, and they show food was not sold when she said the kitchen was closed,” he said.

“It’s important to stress she didn’t profit from operating in a sub-standard kitchen. She’s in poor health and suffers from Lymphoedema, and was immobile for a time leading up to the inspection. It goes without saying the publicity this case has generated locally has had a significant effect on her business, which doesn’t make thousands of pounds of profit. It’s basically just surviving.”

Mr Hartson read from a letter Jarvis had sent PCC, saying she was “gutted” by the state officers had found her kitchen to be in, and from a letter Barbara Summons MBE had sent in support of the publican.

“These offences should be regarded as something of a one-off,” said Mr Hartson. “Due to her ill health, it appears she simply lost control.”

Jarvis will pay off her punishment at a rate of £50 a month.

“She simply cannot afford to pay out more,” her defence solicitor stressed.