A legendary local cheese manufacturer had to issue an urgent recall notice on Christmas Day due to a possible E. Coli contamination.
Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire Cheese Ltd took the precautionary step to recall its cheese products which could contain the dangerous bacteria.
The north west producer’s cheese products are the stuff of legend and will have been heading for countless cheeseboards around the UK.
But households were warned by the Food Standards Agency that if they had purchased items from Mrs Kirkham’s, it should not be eaten.
Instead, the public have been advised to contact the retailer they brought the cheese from and to keep it safely wrapped and not in contact with other foods.
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The affected batches date all the way back to those purchased from 1 October 2023.
Mrs Kirkham’s has said it’s now left ‘in limbo’ as they wait for testing laboratories to reopen from the Christmas break.
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The business assured customers last night that its products go through ‘rigorous and thorough testing’ but that there are new testing techniques that aren’t yet industry standards, and it’s those new techniques that detected possible E. Coli.
Symptoms associated with E. Coli include severe stomach cramps, diarrhoea, and vomiting, with some people experiencing a mild fever. Some infections are severe or even life-threatening. Which isn’t very festive.
The notice from the Food Standards Agency said: “Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire Cheese Ltd has taken the precautionary step of recalling various Lancashire Cheese products because the products might contain E. Coli.
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“The cheeses are sometimes sold as a full block or served as individual portions, it may have been provided as part of a hamper you’ve purchased or been gifted. In some cases it’s been sold as part of a charcutier grazing platter.
“It may not always be clear whether you have purchased an affected product. If in doubt, consumers are advised to contact the retailer they bought their cheese from to find out if the cheese they have purchased is from the businesses and batches affected and, in the meantime, to not eat the product and ensure it is stored safely, fully wrapped and not in contact with other foods.”
Mrs Kirkham’s wrote yesterday: “Good morning to all our customers and followers, further to reports in the media released this morning, we have taken the difficult decision to recall all of our products. This is a precautionary measure, based on information we only received around yesterday teatime.
“Whilst at this time, there has been no testing carried out on our products by the FSA to confirm any suspected risks, we feel it is our duty to recall our products.
“We are working very closely with our local Environmental Health Officers and the Food Standards Agency to fully understand the situation, and whether our products have been correctly implicated.
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“Our modern and purpose built facility here at Mrs kirkham’s, is accredited to the Safe And Local Supplier Approval + cheese (SALSA) standard, and as a member of The Specialist Cheesemakers Association we are careful to always adhere to their code of best practice within our business.
“This recall relates to new testing techniques designed to better identify potentially dangerous strains of Shiga Toxin producing E.coli. Unfortunately, these new testing techniques are not currently industry standard. As a result, despite rigorous and thorough testing throughout our production processes, the potential risk to product safety was not previously identified.
“We are now unfortunately in a state of limbo until testing laboratories reopen and resume testing. As soon as they do, together with the FSA we will investigate further.
“Due to the ongoing and uncertain nature of this situation we would advise our customers to be aware that a recall has also been issued for several other unrelated products.
“We would like to assure all our customers that as we have more information, we will be posting updates on the situation here. We apologise for any inconvenience caused at such an important time of year.
Chester Zoo’s award-winning gastro pub is extending its opening hours due to ‘phenomenal demand’
Danny Jones
Chester Zoo’s much-loved restaurant, The Oakfield, is set to extend its opening hours for the rest of the year following what they have described as ‘phenomenal demand’ from the public.
The award-winning gastro pub situated within the zoo’s grounds has been popular with visitors and Cheshire locals in general ever since it was lovingly restored in 2018, with footfall increasing as park numbers also continue to climb.
A Grade II listed building, The Oakfield was actually first opened all the way back in 1931 by Chester Zoo‘s founder, George Mottershead, and once housed everything from lions, bears, chimpanzees, pelicans, parrots and more.
Cut to today and it’s simply home to good food, a great drinks selection and wonderful service in line with Chester Zoo’s equally high standards when it comes to animal welfare and conservation – and now the restaurant is giving guests what they want be opening on additional days and for longer.
As per an announcement from the zoo, the doors of The Oakfield will now be open every Friday and Sunday evening from 5–11pm.
Their inaugural Sunday service takes place on 12 May with doors open from 5pm and the last table reservation being taken at 19:30 – and trust us, this place can book up quickly. But don’t worry, walk-ins are still welcome and the bar serves until 10pm.
Naturally, the menu features big Sunday roasts as well as classic pub dishes such as The Oakfield’s signature steak burger, battered fish and chips and sausage and mash, just to name a few.
As for the newly rolled out Friday nights, doors open once again at 5pm with the last food bookings available until 20:45pm. The menu’s mouthwatering in this instance too, featuring the likes of Welsh black ribeye steak, a braised lamb shoulder dish and breaded aubergine with katsu curry sauce.
In the years since its return to glory, it’s won various accolades including the regional Taste Cheshire Awards and even international recognition from Traveller’s Choice Awards hosted by TripAdvisor – who just so happened to rank Chester Zoos’ gastro pub in the top 10% of restaurants in the entire world.
Speaking on the announcement, Food and Beverage Operations Manager at The Oakfield, Chloe Gill, said: “Our Friday evening trial proved to be super popular. So, in response to the phenomenal demand we’ve had, and as we head into summer months and begin to enjoy lighter evenings, we’re thrilled to extend our opening hours to include not just Fridays but Sunday evenings too!
“Our guests can enjoy our sun garden while taking in the sights and sounds of nature, brimming with bird song and the majestic roars of lions in the distance – all while knowing every sip of their drink or bite of their food supports our charity, helping to create a brighter future where wildlife thrives.”
Better still, it’s no easier to find than ever thanks to the zoo’s new events entrance on Caughall Road, Upton, which leads you straight up to the gastro pub.
If you want to see what all the fuss is about, you can book a table HERE.
Lead singer of Aussie band blasts mystery Manc café for rude and ‘aggressive’ treatment by staff member
Danny Jones
The lead singer of Australian indie and alternative band, The Buoys, has come out to criticise a mystery Manchester café after receiving rude and ‘aggressive’ treatment from a member of staff.
Lead vocalist and rhythm guitar player, Zoe Catterall, hopped on the band’s TikTok account to vent and indirectly inform others about the as-yet-unnamed coffee shop ahead of the group’s show at Gorilla in the city centre this week.
Noting that much of her family originates from Manchester and she usually gets “excited” by the “sense of home” away from home whenever she comes here on tour, her visit this time around was sadly marred somewhat by the treatment by one unknown member of staff.
As Catterall details in the video, despite going out of her way to be polite and familiarise herself with a new city centre spot as a tourist, she was unfortunately met by the purportedly blunt female worker, who “rolled her eyes” at a simple question and a general rude demeanour. Here’s how she says it went down:
Admitting she “was not expecting the response that I got”, she goes on to detail the woman finger-pointing and exhibiting just a generally rude tone.
Initially suspecting that she might be holding up a queue or irking the staff in some other way, she eventually goes on to describe her behaviour as “being an arsehole for no reason” and reiterating that you “don’t have to be that mean”.
Adding that she was welling up and feeling overwhelmed by the whole incident after a jet-lagged morning without any breakfast or caffeine in her system yet, she eventually felt so uncomfortable that she decided to grab her coffee and go decompress elsewhere.
Moreover, after explaining that she ended up going on to the café’s Google reviews out of curiosity, it turned out that the Manchester spot had racked up quite a few people who also had negative experiences and rude or ‘aggressive’ treatment by staff.
We’re not going to join in on the speculation but the comments have some ideas.
To Zoe and anyone else who may have unfortunately been on the receiving end of this rude individual’s service, we’re sorry you had to put up with that and we assure you it doesn’t represent the majority of Manchester hospitality.
And for those trying to help get to the bottom of who the mystery Manc coffee shop/employee was, we hope it serves as a kick up the backside for whoever it may be and a reminder that it takes virtually nothing to be nice.
All that being said, we can’t think of any better way of helping Zoe and co. shrug it off besides plugging their gig supporting fellow Aussie alt-rockers Vacations at one of our favourite venues on Thursday night.
If you fancy going along you can grab a ticket HERE. Oh, and if you think you know which Manchester café might be, don’t go and be rude to anyone yourself – we’re better than that. We’re sure they’ll come across it themselves soon enough, don’t worry.