The Tiki Lounge Cafe in High St, Lower Hutt, was closed on New Year's Eve and has not reopened.

A chef became so concerned about the unhealthy state of his kitchen that he dobbed in his cafe to health inspectors.

As a result, Hutt City Council closed the Tiki Lounge Cafe in High St, Lower Hutt, on New Year's Eve, and it has not reopened.

Head chef Jah-Rasta Marley, who has quit his job, said he called the inspectors on December 30 after becoming frustrated at what he says was a reluctant attitude from management to put money and time into cleaning.

JARED NICOLL/ FAIRFAX NZ The cafe was cleared to reopen on January 5, but its former manager says its owner has closed it for good.

He took to bringing his own chopping board to work, because he said other staff would chop both raw meat and cooked food on the same boards; and that dishes were simply rinsed with water because the dishwasher used too much power.

However, the cafe's former manager said Marley was responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of the kitchen.

Council staff confirmed that the cafe was not using cleaning products to wash dishes; was using the same chopping board for raw and cooked food; and was storing raw food beside cooked food with a high risk of spoilage.

Management also had to be told not to dump waste from a grease trap down a stormwater drain.

Marley said a health inspector told him "they were finding odd things in the Hutt River and they were wondering if that was why".

He tried to force management to use the dishwasher by squirting dessert sauces on dirty plates, but it did not work, and the kitchen hand kept on rinsing them with water, he said.

"They were trying to cut corners. They had a dishwasher but they didn't want to use it because it costs power. All I had for cleaning was bleach.

"I had to call the health inspector. I didn't want my good reputation ending up ruined by all that."

Council environmental health manager Raaj Govinda said his office issued a notice on New Year's Eve requiring closure under the provisions of a 2014 bylaw that stated "the premises, by reason of situation, is considered sufficiently unsanitary and unhygienic and presents a risk to public health".

Marley, a chef with 16 years' experience, said management then allowed him to clean the cafe properly, which was one of the last things he did while employed there, and inspectors cleared it to reopen on January 5.

It was still closed on Thursday.

Former Tiki Lounge Cafe manager Jie Zhou, who also goes by the name Nick Zhou, said no customers had complained of sickness.

"Jah worked as the chef in Tiki Lounge for almost a year and he was responsible for the maintenance and cleaning of the kitchen, according to the employment contract.



"The main issue that the inspectors were not happy about was the floor cleaning, which is part of the job duties of chef."

Zhou said he was also out of a job as the owner had decided to close the cafe because of a lack of money.

Companies Office records show it is owned by Cool Cafe Ltd, which is owned by Jinghai Wang.

Wang could not be contacted at the address listed in Companies Office records. A tenant there said the last occupants left months ago.

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