New owners' vow to improve ratings at Blackpool curry house

The Lee Raj on Squires Gate Lane has new owners since its problems with Blackpool Council who are promising to raise standards to five star status.

And their early improvements have already paid off with an immediate jump from zero to two stars.

New owner Shaker Mohammed Khan said the team had liaised with council inspectors and were set to spend £15,000 on new kitchen equipment.

He said they were publishing all the recipes online to avoid the issue when the previous owners were fined £700 for having nuts in a recipe which should not have been there.

He said: “We had the council round and asked them how to make things better.

“They spotted a problem with the fire security and so we have installed a new fire alarm system and new extinguishers, we have ordered new easy to clean kitchen equipment and we are buying a new tandoori oven even though the one we have is only two years old.

“We have improved the hygiene procedures and have talked to the council about health and safety and training.”

He said they took over the Lee Raj lease last month but did not realise how much improvement work the building needed.

He said: “We wanted to start with doing up the bar area but the kitchen had to come first.

“We have spent a fortune. The council said we needed to improve the structure of the kitchens and storage areas as they were not up to standard. We are doing that and our new equipment will be installed in the next few weeks.

“Our chef Abdul Malik has 37 years experience.

“He has worked in Madras and has brought a brand new recipe for chicken madras and a peri peri chicken bhuna.”