THE Succession of Ballyfermot has taken another dramatic plot twist – after veteran curry flogger Ken Lam was served a closure order as he slugs it out for business alongside his son Jonathan Lam.
A war of the takeaways has been raging on Ballyfermot Road in west Dublin since the Irish Sun revealed how newcomer businessman Jonathan had launched a rival fast-food shop next door to his father’s long-established Chinese following a family fallout.
The 41-year-old set up New Lam’s at 284 Ballyfermot Road – right next door to the original Lam’s at 286 Ballyfermot Road – after being let go from the family firm when he asked his takeaway boss dad Ken for a pay rise.
The feuding father and son have been going head-to-head in a face-off dubbed the Succession of Ballyfermot, with intrigued punters forming bumper queues at the curry houses and comedians doing TV skits on the dispute.
But as they battle it out for trade, long-time Chinese takeaway supremo Ken – who has operated the original Lam’s for more than 30 years – recently suffered a blow after being shut down.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland yesterday revealed it issued a closure order to the 68-year-old last month after blasting the cleanliness at his curry house as “not acceptable”.
The closure order was served on February 14 and lifted six days later.
An FSAI inspection also laid bare concerns over ventilation, hygiene, contamination, waste management and pest control procedures.
Taking a swipe at cleaning and sanitation at the original Lam’s, the FSAI said: “The level of cleanliness observed at the time of inspection was not acceptable.
“The inspection was expected and the standard was still well below acceptable levels. The business has demonstrated a lack of concern regarding hygiene for an extended period of time, which cannot be tolerated.
“The entire kitchen and storage areas need to be cleaned from top to bottom, equipment needs to be cleaned or removed if beyond repair (step ladders, goods trolleys etc)
“The business has previously been advised to put a cleaning schedule in place that clearly states the frequency of cleaning.
“The Manager/ Owner needs to inspect the premises to ensure the hygiene is acceptable at least monthly going forward.”
‘FREEZING CONDITIONS’
Inspectors said they overheard staff complaining of freezing conditions in the kitchen, with the FSAI issuing an alert over the uniform provided to workers.
The FSAI also found the ventilation system was “not working effectively”, as well as identifying food contamination and waste management lapses.
Calling for urgent action to prevent food contamination, food safety officials told Ken: “Raw and cooked food are noted to be stored in containers with no distinction of its use.
“Colour coding of containers is commonly used to distinguish between raw and cooked storage and to prevent cross contamination. It is not acceptable to store open food directly into cardboard. Cardboard will absorb blood and bacteria from raw chicken and transfer paper and other bacterial contamination onto the food.
“The level of cleanliness observed at the time of inspection was not acceptable.”
FSAI inspection report
“Food is only to be stored in washable containers, easily identifiable as either raw or cooked storage. You are not permitted to store raw chicken wings in previously used chip boxes.”
The FSAI further warned “the waste area to the rear of the premises is not being adequately maintained in a clean manner” and the inspection concluded Lam’s was not pest control proof.
It said: “The void in the ceiling in the back store room is still taped up for the issue with pigeons. This has not been fully investigated with pest control as previously requested. A documented report is required by pest control ensuring that the issue has been rectified. Adequate procedures are to be in place to control pests.
“There are access points for pests throughout the back store room and beside the coldroom (cracked drain top). These areas are to be made pest proofed. The recommendations given by the pest control company have not been completed, these are to be carried out.”
BACK IN BUSINESS
Lam’s confirmed to customers they were closed for a week last month “due to a ventilation issue and other things”.
When questioned last night by the Irish Sun, Ken insisted his takeaway was back in business after the recent shutdown.
Ken told us: “I’m okay. They (the FSAI) closed a lot of people’s businesses. In Ireland, a lot of businesses (were) closed.”
When our reporter quizzed Ken further about the issues identified by the FSAI, he replied: “I don’t want to discuss this, okay.”
Speaking to the Irish Sun last night, Jonathan, who is enjoying a boom in trade, said: “We have no worries. Our standards are high. Keep calm, New Lam’s.”
