A high-end butchery in London co-founded by Jamie Oliver was closed briefly after health inspectors found mouldy carcasses, old meat and – grossest of all – a ‘heavy presence’ of mouse droppings.
Barbecoa Butchers occupies prime real estate near St. Paul’s cathedral in the heart of London. Its website describes its meats as “second to none”, but it’s been revealed it closed its doors for 24 hours in January after health inspectors found mould on carcasses hanging in the basement, dirty slicers and vacuum packers and a range of out-of-date meat products, including expensive wagyu beef, marrow bone and oxtail cuts.
They also found that old chicken breasts were removed from their packaging and repackaged with the expiry date set a week later, as well as poor lighting, damaged flooring and a ‘heavy presence’ of mouse droppings. All in all, a pretty comprehensively disgusting result.
A spokeswoman for the Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group said that dry aging of meat on the bone encourages mould and is common practise and that improvements had been made at the butchery.
It’s an embarrassing result for Jamie Oliver, who – like many chefs – has talked up how much he prefers fresh, non-mouldy produce to old, mouldy produce.
Image via Ben A. Pruchnie for Getty Images Entertainment
