AN INDEPENDENT bakery that serves Dim Sum, steamed buns, dumplings and Chinese pastries has scored five stars in its latest food hygiene inspection.

East Oxford Asian bakery Rachel’s was awarded a hygiene rating of ‘very good’ after an inspection on May 13 from inspectors at Oxford City Council.

The bakery on 55 St Clement’s Street in Oxford, was awarded a rating of ‘good’ for food hygiene and safety, ‘very good’ for structural compliance and ‘good’ for confidence in management.

Inspectors from Oxford City Council’s health team last visited Rachel’s in June 2019, and gave the St Clement’s business just two stars, meaning improvement was necessary.

The 2019 report raised concerns with food found long past its expiration date, as well as the cleanliness of the kitchen.

Some of the problems highlighted included pork found to be almost three years out of date and mouldy moon cakes.

Read also: The latest food hygiene results for Oxfordshire

At the time, a statement from Rachel’s said it was working to address the issues raised, adding: “We are taking actions in accordance to the advices from the hygiene inspector and are confident of receiving a top score for the next inspection.”

Now, the bakery which opened in 2014, has completely turned it around - scoring the best food hygiene rating possible.

The bakery’s website claims it offers freshly made sandwiches ‘generously filled with mouth-watering ingredients’.

It adds: “We are passionate to serve you with delicious Dim Sum, steamed buns, dumplings, Chinese pastry, Vietnamese Bánh Mì baguette, locally roasted espresso coffee and organic teas.

“Rachel’s cafe is unique in the way that we work with our family recipes passed down generation by generation. Our products represent the cultural heritage and some amazing Malaysian Chinese food you that can taste.

“Most of our food products are handmade from scratch in our kitchen. We cooked and baked them in moderate batches to ensure our items are fresh and readily available throughout the day.”

The bakery owners also say they are ‘environmentally conscious’ and claim to source their food locally and use recyclable packaging.

Rachel’s has a host of rave reviews online, with happy customers leaving five-star reviews on Google. One customer said: “This is a great little cafe, and I am so happy that it has emerged from lockdown still in business. For years it has been my favourite place for a slightly elevated East Oxford lunch, a cut above the competition in terms of variety and tastiness.”

The bakery is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 4.30pm.