Training underpins everything   

Whether you learnt your trade as a chef or you started your career in a totally different industry, one thing never changes – we are all learning all of the time.   

When it comes to protecting your business, training is key especially during busy seasons such as the summer months and Christmas when you might take on additional staff to cope with the demands of increased events or bookings.   

We are experts in small and micro businesses like yours and create our training courses in-house, so why go anywhere else?  

NCASS membership comes with discounted training as standard and what’s more, the sight of an NCASS Training certificate in your business will put a smile on your EHOs face, and that’s good news for your hygiene rating too.   

Our training covers: 3 levels of food hygiene training, Health & Safety, Allergen management, HACCP and more.   

We recommend that business owners, chefs and manager are trained to level 3 food hygiene, you ensure temporary staff are trained in food hygiene as a minimum, that anyone handling food is trained at level 2 and any casual staff should be trained at level 1. It is key that we all understand HACCP, H&S and allergen management is a non-negotiable – we should all be knowledgeable in this aspect of F&B operations.   

Quieter periods such as the winter months (discounting Christmas of course) are the perfect time to schedule in your staff training and to top up your own.

What to Expect When You’re Inspected

One thing you can always be sure of when operating in hospitality is that an Environmental Health Officer will come knocking. Inspections can be daunting and have a significant impact on a business – the difference between achieving a positive and a poor food hygiene rating is huge.

You should do everything you can to aim for a five star rating – this is a reputable advert for your business and tells customers they can trust you.

Keeping on top of your compliance can be tricky. We know exactly what it takes for independent businesses to stay compliant, and what EHOs are looking for during an inspection.

So take advantage of our winter toolkit, with this section dedicated to helping you ace your EHO inspection. Listen to our podcast episodes speaking with a former EHO, read our precise guide breaking down how the food hygiene rating scheme works and how you can achieve a higher score and understand how our Primary Authority partnership with local government is to your benefit with our Primary Authority guide.

With over 30+ years of experience in the independent hospitality sector, NCASS has seen it all. Most businesses start off by ticking all the boxes and researching all the best things on the market to help run their business. However, as can often be the case when you’re at the peak of success within your business venture, simple things like up-to-date compliance, locating the best deals and HR best practice can sometimes be missed when things are going well, leading to a panic when trade calms down or EHO’s come to call. That’s why, no-matter where you are in your journey, we’re here at the end of the phone to chat through any concerns you may have and are continuously improving our tools and systems to make sure you can streamline your operations to make running a business as simple as possible.

Section 3 of our Winter Toolkit is all about helping your business to thrive and focuses on the perks to membership that we want to make sure you’re taking full advantage of. From cashback schemes and discounts with some of the UK’s most established suppliers, to help and support on everyday matters from our knowledgeable account team, we’re here to support you.