The Olde Jack Inn wins accolade for food quality

A family-run pub dating back to the 19th century has been recognised for the quality of its food hygiene.

The Olde Jack Inn at Calverhall near Whitchurch run by Linda and Ken Roberts has received a five-star food hygiene rating from Shropshire Council.

The scheme, launched by the council in June 2010, is designed so customers can be better informed about choosing where to buy and eat their food.

Mr and Mrs Roberts, from Buerton, near Woore, bought the pub in February 2009 and carried out a £10,000 refurbishment before opening at Easter in the same year.

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"We had the council's environmental health officer in for a routine visit last month," Mrs Roberts said.

"She checked all the dates on our food, made sure it was fresh and kept in the right conditions and looked at the cleanliness of our fridges and floors.

"She then went away to write a report and it came back to us through the post, saying that we had been given a five-star rating for the quality of our food hygiene.

"I think it's excellent news because you can't get higher than a five-star rating."

Restaurants, pubs, hotels and retailers are all part of the scheme which is graded on a zero to five rating. The maximum five-star rating is given to any business that has very good standards of handling food hygienically, managing food safety and its premises clean and well-lit.

Mrs Roberts said: "A lot of our regular customers know and we have a certificate which we'll hang up on the wall to let other people know.

"We've worked together as a family for a long time, but this is the first pub of our own so we try that bit harder to make it good," she added.

The Olde Jack will be celebrating its success with a live nativity at 6pm on Thursday featuring a selection of Christmas carols and readings by the vicar of Calverhall, Rev Michael Last.