THE ROYAL Spice in Hartlebury has become the latest food establishment in the Wychavon district to achieve the Healthier Choices Food Award.

The Healthier Choices Food Award scheme, which is run by Worcestershire Regulatory Services, is open only to those eateries – like The Royal Spice – with the highest possible five-star food hygiene rating.

The award recognises Worcestershire food businesses that cater for customers by offering them a variety of healthy and flexible options, with a special Gold Award for businesses using food grown or produced locally.

At The Royal Spice, which opened in 2015, a range of healthier choices are offered with limited amounts of fat and oil being used during cooking and no salt being added in the kitchen. To discourage customers from adding salt at the table they must request condiments from waiters. Staff at the restaurant have also completed training in allergens awareness.

In addition to their Healthier Choices credentials, The Royal Spice can also boast high quality food cooked by Kamrul Islam, its talented executive chef who was one of 40 chefs nationwide to be awarded Curry Chef of the Year in 2015.

It has also been awarded Level Five (the top score) in the Food Standards Agency rating scheme for food hygiene, which is a pre-requisite for the Healthier Choices Food Award.

Councillor Gerry O’Donnell, who is responsible for promoting health improvement across Wychavon, said: “Healthy eating plays an important role in healthy lifestyles and a lifestyle that incorporates a healthy diet – as well as regular, moderate physical activity – will help us live longer and improve our quality of life.

“The Royal Spice, and other establishments offering healthy and fresh food, play a valuable role in helping us achieve this lifestyle.”

As well as showing customers that the restaurant or café is part of a scheme putting customer satisfaction first, the Healthier Choices Food Award comes with a range of additional business benefits such as nutritional analysis of recipes, discounted training for staff and networking and informative events.

For full details of the award scheme visit www.worcsregservices.gov.uk/food.

The Royal Spice Restaurant is on the A449 southbound near the Travelodge at Hartlebury (the former Little Chef site).

Previous recipients from Wychavon of the Healthier Choices Food Award are The Angel Hotel (Pershore), Bridge Street Kitchen (Evesham), Eckington Manor, and Fusion Brasserie (Stoulton).

Any establishment interested in joining the scheme can contact Worcestershire Regulatory Services on 01905 822799 by emailing hcfa@worcsregservices.gov.uk or visiting http://www.worcsregservices.gov.uk/food.aspx