The owner of an up-market restaurant favoured by the Royals and A-listers has been hit with a £31,000 fine for serious food and hygiene breaches.
Conor George Thomson-Moore, the owner of Beach Blanket Babylon in Notting Hill, west London, was sentenced on Monday and ordered to pay a £7,000 fine, £2,000 victim surcharge and the Council’s legal costs of £22,000.
The 30-year-old was also banned from operating a food business for ten years.
It comes after the renowned eatery was forced to close when it was found to have a serious infestation of mice, rats and cockroaches – with food contaminated by mouse droppings.
Kensington and Chelsea Council officers inspected the restaurant in September 2022 and found poor cleaning, inadequate pest control procedures and a failure to comply with a Hygiene Improvement Notice under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.
The venue was a former favourite of Prince William and Princess Kate as well as Selena Gomez and Rita Ora.
The dirty and unclean condition of the restaurant saw it served with an Emergency Hygiene Prohibition Notice.
No hot water and more pest issues found in a 2023 inspection meant they were also served with Hygiene Improvement Notices.
Conor George Thomson-Moore (pictured), the owner of Beach Blanket Babylon in Notting Hill, has been hit with a £31,000 fine after it was shut down for serious food and hygiene breaches
It comes after the renowned eatery was forced to close when it was found to have a serious infestation of mice, rats and cockroaches – with food contaminated by mouse droppings.
Kensington and Chelsea Council officers inspected the restaurant in September 2022 and found poor cleaning, inadequate pest control procedures and a failure to comply with a Hygiene Improvement Notice
Operators Robert Kenneth Newmark and Conor George Thomson-Moore admitted serious food offences in April, with the offences related to poor food hygiene practices.
Thomson-Moore pleaded guilty to four charges at City of London Magistrates’ Court and the charges against Mr Newmark were dropped.
District Judge Clarke said, ‘this was probably one of the egregious cases I have seen’.
At the time of the offences, it is believed the former restaurant boss was already disqualified ‘for conduct’ as an ‘unfit’ director of Café Hampstead, according to Companies House.
The disgraced hospitality boss has for years had money troubles follow him, allegedly owing thousands of pounds to unpaid staff and creditors.
But he has now fled to Spain, where he attends parties, enjoys fine dinners and is seen on lavish boats.
A Soho restaurant he previously owned called Martha’s came under fire in 2019 when staff protested with placards outside the establishment, claiming they had been left out of pocket – with sums of more than £1,500 owed to some of them.
Thomson-Moore, insisted that all staff who were due wages had been paid, blaming the row on confusion arising during a managerial handover and a former manager who he said was bad at paperwork, according to the Guardian.
Following this failure, Kensington and Chelsea Council officers decided to take legal action against business operators Robert Kenneth Newmark and Thomson-Moore
The duo admitted serious food offences, with the offences related to poor food hygiene practices
The venue was a former favourite of Prince William and Princess Kate, pictured
The disgraced hospitality boss has now fled to Spain, where he attends parties, enjoys fine dinners and is seen on lavish boats
He has for years had money troubles follow him, allegedly owing thousands of pounds to unpaid staff and creditors
The restaurant was forced to shut down after it became insolvent.
In the same year, Café Hampstead went bust as it owed £346,464.26 in unpaid debts.
The amount included £107,857.40 to Camden Council for business rates and £144,000 to HMRC for unpaid tax and VAT, according to papers filed by Café Hampstead Ltd’s liquidators, seen by Ham&High.
Other creditors include hospitality recruitment firms, wine suppliers and a plumber.
Councilor Johnny Thalassites, lead member for environment and planning for Kensington and Chelsea said on the sentencing: ‘We support our local businesses, but we also take food safety seriously.
‘Our officers work with businesses to ensure high standards are maintained that our residents and visitors expect and deserve.
‘This prosecution shows our commitment to being a safe and fair borough and we won’t hesitate to act against those businesses who don’t play by the rules.’
