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Chef prepares sushi ... outside by the bins
Last updated at 11:59am on 16.03.07
'Concerns': a chef cuts up tuna in an alley behind a north London restaurant
Popular: Eat Tokyo has received postive reviews over the past year
The carcass of a large tuna lies waiting to be sliced into individual portions of sushi or sashimi.
It is being prepared next to a row of rubbish bins in a dingy alleyway, behind the restaurant where diners will order it for their meals in only a few hours time.
A chef hacks at the carcass, his impromptu work surface part of the polystyrene packing the fish arrived in, balanced on a crate.
At his feet lie chunks of the ice in which the fish was packed. In between slicing the tuna into sections he wipes his knife on a rag.
This disturbing scene took place behind the eat Tokyo restaurant in Golders Green which promises customers "authentic Japanese" cuisine. On a table outside the restaurant - where a meal for two can cost £45 with soft drinks and service - are displayed menus and photographs of dishes, alongside several magazine reviews.
Barnet council's trading standards officers have now launched an investigation into the restaurant's hygiene practices.
A spokesman for the council said: "While preparing food outside is not strictly against the law certain measures need to be taken to avoid the risk of contamination.
"We're concerned that such measures may not have been observed in this case, and as this is a Japanese restaurant the risk is higher because dishes can involve raw fish. Environmental health officers will be investigating this restaurant straight away."
Tatsuo Tanabe, spokesman for eat Tokyo, insisted staff did not usually prepare food outside.
"This particular blue fin tuna was very large and had to be cut up into pieces outside before we could bring it into the kitchen. This is unusual and everything was kept as clean as possible," he said.
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