Canal Side Cafe
Canal Side Café is a family run mobile café stationed by the Ashton canal at Portland Basin, Ashton-Under-Lyne. They have been awarded a Food Hygiene Rating of 5 following their first food hygiene inspection by Tameside Council.
Run by Lee and Annmarie Howell, the café serves up a tasty range of hot food and beverages including sausage and bacon sandwiches, classic full English breakfasts and delicious freshly made smash burgers.
This isn’t their first food business venture, having run café’s around 20 years ago in the Marple and Goyt Valley areas of Stockport. The catering industry has changed a lot over the years however, so the Howells have had to re-familiarise themselves with all of the food safety rules and regulations.
When our Tameside Council colleague Helen got in touch with Lee and Annmarie, she talked them through everything to expect from their food hygiene inspection, and the checks and processes they need to have in place on a daily basis.
“We’ve been out of the food and drink industry for a few years and a lot has changed since we had our last business. We tried to search for everything we needed online, but it started to feel like information overload, so it was a huge relief when Helen from Business Compliance Support called us. She gave us a great heads-up on what we needed to do to comply and what we needed to have in place in time for our food hygiene inspection. Helen followed this up with an email so we had everything we needed in one hit. Without Helen’s help, it would have taken so much longer to pull together everything we needed.
We felt so much more confident with our processes after speaking to Helen and it definitely helped us achieve our five-star hygiene rating which is so important for a business like ours. A lot of business owners are scared of environmental health officers and other regulators, but Helen helped take away the worry with her friendly approach and the support she offered. It is such a good service being delivered by Helen and we’re glad that it is being offered across Greater Manchester so other businesses can benefit like we did.”