and despite a few parts of the meal missing the mark<\/a>, gave it a strong review overall.<\/p>\nBut that same month, hygiene inspectors visited and found Yorkshire puddings stored in bin bags, and problems with the cooling and storing of meat.<\/p>\n
The business has since been put on the market, with \u201chealth issues\u201d listed as the reason for the sale. It has appeared on Zoopla but its sale price has not been disclosed.<\/p>\n
On Mother\u2019s Day, a Facebook post caused a stir when a customer warned residents: \u201cif you\u2019re planning on going, don\u2019t\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sophie McGuinness said the business had run out of all food except chicken wings.<\/p>\n
![\"DJB](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
DJB Smokehouse opened in the former Downtown Diner unit in Park Street, Ashford last year. Picture: DJB<\/p>\n
She wrote: \u201cAnyone who has a booking for DJB Smokehouse or is planning on going today, don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey seated our pre-booked group and were taking drinks orders when another member of staff informed us they had completely run out of food except chicken wings.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the best planning ahead for their company on Mother\u2019s Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other visitors then revealed they had similar experiences at the venue, with Lauren Butcher commenting: \u201cWe walked out after 20 minutes of sitting as we hadn’t even had our drinks order taken and could see that it wasn’t going to be a good experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a shame, as I was really looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similarly, Michelle Kingsland said: \u201cI also had a booking and was turned away as there was no food.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reporter Rhys Griffiths reviewed the DJB Smokehouse barbecue restaurant in Park Street for Eat My Words<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Keyes visited on a different day and was shocked to be served a bottle of Tesco prosecco for \u00a330.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cIt was the worst dining experience ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe girl who served us was alone, managing the whole place.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did her best, but never ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, one mum – Alyson Horn – said she had a positive experience on Mother\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur booking was at 12pm,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe food was amazing, and there were no issues with the service.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hygiene inspection was conducted on February 10.<\/p>\n
At the visit, the inspector noted that poultry was not being monitored to ensure it reached the correct temperature while cooking.<\/p>\n
He also witnessed food being cooled at room temperature, saying: \u201cI observed three trays of chicken which had been cooked and were left at room temperature to cool.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no control over cooling time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meat was also found with no use by dates on, and a cling film wrapper was being used for raw and ready-to-eat foods.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Yorkshire puddings were being kept in black sacks in the freezer.<\/p>\n
The inspector said: \u201cAll equipment that is used for food storage must be suitable for food contact.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must check the specification of storage containers you are using to ensure their suitability.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time, DJB Smokehouse said: \u201cWe acknowledge the result of our recent food hygiene inspection and, while we were disappointed by the outcome, we appreciate the feedback provided.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take food safety and hygiene extremely seriously, and we have already implemented a number of improvements since the inspection took place.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding the issue of Yorkshire puddings being stored in black waste bags, we want to clarify that this was a temporary and isolated incident during a period of unexpected stock delivery delays.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not in line with our standard operating procedures, and all staff have since undergone updated training to ensure this will not happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The improvements include a deep clean, revised food storage processes, a new kitchen manager and a fresh staff training program.<\/p>\n
DJB Smokehouse did not respond to requests for comment about the closure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A barbecue restaurant has closed after just five months following a two-star hygiene rating and complaints of food…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[605,51,609,495,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-4877","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-ashford","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-human-interest","11":"tag-kent","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114301745454113842","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}