Davy's free to serve rare burgers after Westminster council offers no evidence in court
Davy's wine bars are free to cook burgers rare and medium rare again, despite effectively being banned from doing so in 2011 after Westminster City Council served an improvement notice on one of its restaurants over the practice.
Davy's won an appeal against Westminster in June this year after a judge rejected the council's ruling that the practice was unsafe.
The council wanted Davy's beef supplier to sear and shave the outside of whole cuts of meat to remove harmful bacteria. But Davy's argued that its supplier could be trusted to provide beef that was safe.
Now the final part of the Hygiene Improvement Notice, served two years ago, has finally collapsed with Westminster City Council offering no evidence in court on Monday 17 December 2013.
In a statement, Davy's said: "We are proud of the exemplary quality of our product, which is a long way from an ordinary burger.
"At Davy's we use only the highest quality aged minced fillet, sirloin and rib steak supplied by our butcher under conditions and to a standard that under EU law is fit for consumption in the raw form. To this superb product we add herbs and seasoning to produce what our customers tell us is one of the best gourmet burgers available.
"We have always worked hard to ensure that the food we serve is not only of the highest quality and taste, but is safe. We are delighted to have succeeded in demonstrating that to the court.
"It is a great relief that after almost two years of defending charges by Westminster City Council, who additionally chose to pursue a criminal prosecution against Davy's managing director, all such charges have been dropped with an award of costs in Davy's favour.
"Our ability to stay the course was much aided by having proper insurance cover in place. Davy's would recommend that other food businesses check their cover if they wish to legitimately resist enforcement action."