Community butcher goes from one-star to five-star rating after clean up

A butcher has gone from a one-star to five-star hygiene rating after making massive changes to his shop.

John Bayman, who owns Bayman Butchers on Ashton Road, Oldham has come a long way since 2022 when he was  summoned to court after a visit from environmental health inspectors and fined more than £700 for “dirty” conditions.

At the time, it was found the shop had no running hot water and had no wash basin in the toilet.

Passed with flying colours

Now, the family-run shop has passed its latest hygiene inspection with flying colours, receiving a “very good” rating in all categories. This included the ‘cleanliness and condition of facilities’ and the ‘hygienic storage of food’.
John, who has been running the shop for more than 30 years, was relieved about the new rating.

John said the period after the dip in his rating was “difficult” but he took solace from a fiercely loyal base of customers.

“I love Oldham,” he said. “I love the place and the people here. I also love my job – I’ve been doing it for 32 years! And I’m very fortunate to that my son loves this job too and wants to take over the butchers.”

New racks and plumbing

He plead guilty to eight food hygiene offences at Tameside Magistrate’s Court in November 2022,  after a follow-up inspection in 2021 found he had failed to respond to a previous warning about his facilities.

When the case came before the court, he had already completed the works to improve his shop, which included new meat-hanging racks and plumbing works.

The court gave him a conditional discharge and a fine of more than £700.

John explained that the lapse in conditions happened after he was left to run the shop by himself in the middle of the COVID pandemic.

Overwhelmed

John, a single dad of seven, said he had kept the shop open by himself while juggling family duties and the stresses of the pandemic. He’d simply been overwhelmed.

“During the pandemic someone that worked for me retired. It was always the two of us and suddenly it was just me there from seven o’clock in the morning until eight o’clock at night. I was working, working, working. It was a nightmare.”

Now, with the rating restored, he hopes he can wipe the slate clean and continue to focus on what really matters to him – good meat from good local sources.

“I’ve cleaned up,” said John. “Now it’s in the window – five star rating. I just want a clean slate for my son, who’s taking over the business.”

Photo credit Phillip Bayman