A LANDLORD is ‘chuffed’ to have scored the highest rating for hygiene at his East Oxford pub.

Lee McAllister says his team of staff at the Prince of Wales pub on Horspath Road have been keeping on top of hygiene standards every day.

He runs his clean business by ensuring everyone does the appropriate checks to ensure they are always ready for a surprise visit from Oxford City Council’s hygiene team.

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He said: “We are chuffed. That’s our third five-star rating in a row now. It’s a surprise when they come in. We just have to do everything everyday and going in the kitchen and checking everything is as it should be is now a habit.

“That’s what we tell the staff - to get into the habit - so they know, first things first, to get the fridge checks done and we can start the day.

“It’s part of the opening up procedure really.”

Mr McAllister says he loves running the pub and has been doing so for 12 years with his wife who chips in with helping to write new menus.

The pub has also had a refurbishment and launched a new menu with pub favourites such as fish and chips, jacket potatoes and cottage pie.

Since the revamp, Mr McAllister has welcomed new customers.

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He said: “I enjoy it - we have ups and downs. It’s nice to see lots of different people coming into the pub every week now.”

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Prince of Wales is closed.

Mr McAllister did not feel it was necessary to keep the pub open despite many others as well as restaurants and small local businesses across the county who are operating as takeaway or delivery only.

He said even if he did do a takeaway menu, people may linger outside the restaurant which would not be safe.

His main priority during the crisis is keeping his family and the public safe.

He said: “I just don’t see the benefit of it. I don’t see the point. We are trying to isolate so that we can eventually see the rest of our family.

“We’ve got a three-year-old son and we are currently schooling him and trying to be a nursery for him.

"It would be nice to get back open and we will wait and see what happens, but there are more important things going on at the moment so we just need to be patient.”

When the pub was open last month before the lockdown began on March 23, all staff were following strict handwashing protocols and all surfaces were deep cleaned and continually sanitised.