Food hygiene breaches, repossessed takeaways: Inside the four year rise of Eat Indian
PLUS: In-fighting at Lancashire County Council set out in new report
Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.
This week we publish our investigation into a food outlet with stores across Lancashire - and one further afield - and how those problems might not be going away quickly.
It’s with reluctance that we report issues in the hospitality industry - we know they have enough to worry about for the most part. But it’s important for public health reasons, and to help the public decide which businesses to support with their hard-earned money.
This story, co-published with our sister title The Blackpool Lead, is the result of several months worth of work and you won’t read it from the other news providers in the county.
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From a market stall to a small chain repeatedly in trouble over food hygiene breaches
By Jamie Lopez, with additional reporting by Luke Beardsworth
When Eat Indian brought its takeaway food offering to Preston in 2021, it appeared to be the next step in the success story of a business which started with a market stall and now had multiple shops.
The business was already operating from a shop in Lancaster and would soon open extra locations in Blackpool and Kendal. But while the business’s website made promises that “we are very proud of the care and attention to detail when it comes to making food for our customers”, behind the scenes a very different picture was emerging.
First came prosecutions for hygiene breaches at the Lancaster warehouse which supplied the Lancaster, Preston and Kendal, then the Blackpool shop was slapped with a zero star hygiene rating.
The owners initially tried to explain the closure which followed that assessment as being related to a burst water tank issue, only for the truth to be uncovered by The Blackpool Lead.
We now understand legal action is being considered as a result of those issues despite an improved rating being issued.
In recent weeks, the Preston store has become embroiled in an issue over rent payments as a bitter war of words broke out between Eat Indian and the charity ‘Trustees for Roman Catholic Purposes Registered’ which owned the building. It has since relocated to another unit on the same road, replacing a Greek restaurant which opened earlier that year and appears to have ownership links with Eat Indian.
The Lancashire Lead approached Eat Indian to ask questions about the issues afflicting the business. As part of a longer response, the business’s sole director Fuzail Patel said the business is “committed to maintaining the highest standards of food quality, hygiene, and customer satisfaction across all our locations”. They added that they have worked to improve on previous “challenges”.
Eat Indian’s first run-in with authorities came as a result of a series of visits to the unit at Lansil Industrial Estate which supplied the three shops it was then operating. According to Lancaster City Council, repeated inspections identified poor standards at the premises.
These issues included poor controls in place for cooling food, storage of waste, cleanliness and maintenance, hand washing, transport of food and non-compliance with statutory notices served to seek improved standards at the premises.
As a result, Mr Patel pleaded guilty to 12 Food Safety and Hygiene offences and was ordered to pay more than £14,000 in fines and court costs.
Speaking after that prosecution in September 2023, Cllr Joanne Ainscough, cabinet member with responsibility for environmental health and enforcement, said: “Our environmental health team is committed to ensuring food standards remain high in the Lancaster district to safeguard our residents and visitors.
“Poor food hygiene standards can pose a serious threat to public health and we will not hesitate in taking action against businesses who fall short of legal food safety and hygiene requirements.”
In Blackpool, the chain’s fourth location opened in the summer of 2024. On social media, bosses proudly proclaimed the new opening came in response to “countless requests from our local community”.
Within days though, inspectors from Blackpool Council issued the lowest possible hygiene score - zero stars - after finding a range of faults at the shop.
As The Blackpool Lead reported last September, issues cited by inspectors “included placing containers in a pool of blood present in the fridge, hands not being washed and no surfaces being cleaned in the entirety of a one-hour visit and a lack of awareness of cross-contamination risks.”
Other issues included food being stored on the floor, employees wearing sandals, vegetables on the fire escape stairs and raw meat being left uncovered.
Eat Indian was served with a Hygiene Improvement Notice by Blackpool Council and told to remedy the issues by 1 August - or face prosecution. The owners then voluntarily closed its doors but at the time told The Gazette it had done so due to a burst water pipe.
After making some improvements, it was able to reopen only with permission from council officers.
While the council must reinspect a zero star venue within three months of being requested to do so, Blackpool Council only issued a new rating some eight months later.
The Blackpool Lead understands this delay was at the hands of the business and not the council, while the two star rating - which is classified as “improvement necessary” and was awarded in December - remains a point of concern among authority officials.
While it is not a legal requirement to do so, Blackpool Council typically revisits two star premises within four weeks for another assessment but does not issue a fresh rating. The Lancashire Lead also understands that legal action is being considered as a result of the findings of the first inspection.
When asked about the issues at the Blackpool store and if he was content with the two star rating, Mr Patel said this shop was an independently-operated franchise.
He continued: “However, we have still worked closely with them to support improvements. While we acknowledge past challenges, we have worked diligently to improve and ensure we meet and exceed expectations.
“Regarding hygiene ratings, we have taken significant steps to address the concerns raised in Blackpool. Since the initial assessment, we have implemented enhanced training for staff, upgraded our processes, and worked closely with local authorities to ensure full compliance.
“The improvement from zero to two stars is a reflection of these efforts, and we remain committed to further progress. We fully intend to request a reinspection at the appropriate time, as our goal is to achieve the highest possible rating.
“Our experience with Blackpool Council has been constructive. We engaged proactively with them throughout the process and took all necessary actions to rectify the issues highlighted. The timing of the reinspection was subject to council availability and our internal readiness to demonstrate substantial improvements, ensuring that all corrective measures were thoroughly implemented before seeking reassessment.”
While all four outlets are managed as different entities - according to Companies House - they all fall under the directorship of Mr Patel.
In Preston, problems of a different kind occurred just before Christmas when the shop was suddenly closed down by its landlords. On that occasion, a sign was posted in the window which explained the lease had been forfeited.
Subsequent reporting by Blog Preston highlighted conflicting stories from both stories. According to Eat Indian, the business had already left the site due higher rent being demanded and a failure to reach an agreement both parties were happy with.
However, a spokesperson for the landlord said the problem actually dated back to January 2024, when Eat Indian Preston Limited was dissolved as a company and Mr Patel took on a temporary tenancy agreement.
They said the dissolution legally ended the original agreement and that Mr Patel had built up arrears during the temporary tenancy. While they were willing to allow the business to continue operating on the same terms, they said, this would only be allowed provided the arrears were repaid.
The spokesperson said: “As the occupier was not able or willing to do this, and as there were certain compliance obligations relating to fire safety in the property that they had not met, we took possession of the premises on 23 December.
“The landlord is a registered charity, and the property is held for investment purposes. It is therefore a requirement under the Charities Act to seek the best financial return for the charity from such a property.”
Once the article was published, a representative for Eat Indian accused Blog Preston of posting “absolutely bulshit” but when asked to if they wished to add any context or a statement, replied that “I don’t need to prove to you or the public what’s gone on behind closed doors, I’ve got everything in black and white that’s enough for me”.
Eat Indian was then able to reopen when it took over another site on the same street, one which had previously been occupied by a restaurant called Greekos.
While it is not clear whether the quick changeover was made possible by a link between Greekos and Eat Indian, Companies House records show that the sole owners of each company - Yasin Muta Patel and Fuzail Patel - had a shared directorship in a third business named Junction 51 Limited.
When asked about this, Fuzail Patel told The Lancashire Lead: “As for Greekos, it is a separate business with its own operational considerations.
“Any changes in its status were based on independent business decisions rather than any direct link to Eat Indian’s continued operations. Our focus remains on delivering high-quality Indian cuisine to our customers across the region.”
You can read our reporting from last summer via The Blackpool Lead below.
In our midweek edition of The Lancashire Lead, we reported on the story of Brig Henge. As part of that, we asked Lancashire County Council why the work had taken so long, and they didn’t directly answer.
They have since made clear that the work was originally undertaken by BT/Openreach, rather than Lancashire County Council, and they were responsible for the work from December 2024 until last week when the site was dismantled.
We are happy to make that clarification.
We’re delighted to say Cosy Homes in Lancashire is supporting independent, in-depth journalism in Lancashire by sponsoring The Blackpool Lead and The Lancashire Lead. Discover how they can help you improve energy efficiency in your home and keep it warmer.
In-fighting - but through the proper channels - from elected members at Lancashire County Council
By Paul Faulkner
A third of the complaints made about Lancashire county councillors last year were from fellow elected members.
A total of 18 allegations were lodged against the authority’s representatives – with six of them coming from other county councillors and a seventh from a member of a district council.
The list of councillor-on-councillor complaints was dominated by what were regarded as offensive comments made in meetings or on social media. Residents raised similar issues, along with claims of “unhelpful and dismissive” responses to enquiries and the suggestion that some members were “ignoring local issues”.
All of the complaints were resolved informally. Four of the seven from county and district councillors were not found to be a breach of County Hall’s code of conduct, while the three others saw apologies issued or other corrective action taken.
Of the overall complaint tally across the 12 months between December 2023 and December 2024, the vast majority – 14 – were not considered to have broken the authority’s standards rules. The remaining four – including the three made by other members – were resolved without the matter having to be referred to the county council’s conduct committee for a formal hearing.
The number of complaints last year was double the nine lodged in 2023 and more than four times higher than the total in 2022.
Josh Mynott, head of democratic services at the county council, said the spike was likely related to 2024 having been – and long widely expected to be – a general election year.
“That just generally heightens people’s sensitivities,” he told a meeting of the authority’s audit, risk and governance committee.
“Councillors become higher profile, people are looking out for what you say, what you write [and] what you put on your social media accounts – there is much more attention on councillors.”
Mr. Mynott also said changes to the nature of what the authority considered a complaint meant some issues that would not have been recorded in previous years were listed for the first time in 2024.
He told the committee that in spite of the increased volume of complaints, there had not been any change in “the general standards of behaviour amongst our councillors…[which] remain high”.
The authority attempts to resolve informally – wherever possible – any matters that do arise.
“Just being able to…say, ‘Look, you might not have meant it, but it caused offence, say sorry,’ [is helpful],” Mr. Mynott explained.
“Especially where there are disputes or debates between county councillors, if we can just get them in a room to speak to each other, we can often resolve lots of things.”
However, committee member Julia Berry warned while that approach might be “a success story”, it would still be worthwhile to get ”feedback” from complainants to determine whether they were happy with the ultimate resolution.
Committee member Matthew Maxwell-Scott added it was important to draw a distinction between the number of complaints and the proportion upheld.
“If people [want to] make a load of complaints for vexatious reasons that have no merit, they can – but it doesn’t actually mean anything,” he said.
The names of those complained about are not published in the annual County Hall complaints summary – nor any detail about whether any of the 84 members have attracted more than one complaint or whether the same incident has resulted in multiple complaints.
Thank you for reading The Lancashire Lead this week. We will be back with you on Wednesday and we hope you have a lovely week.
Luke, Jamie, Ed, Sophie and the team.