Hygiene rating is icing on the cake for Wolverhampton cafe
A former prison nurse who decided to set up a tearooms with her mother is celebrating after being given top marks by hygiene inspectors.
Gemma Box has been running Madam Clarke's with mother Jayne Mills in Wolverhampton city centre for less than a year but is clearly taken to the industry like a duck to water after the business was given a five-star hygiene rating.
Any cafe or restaurant which serves food are inspected by council hygiene experts to ensure premises meet cleanliness standards - and Madame Clarke's received the best possible score.
It was more good news for the mother and daughter team, who run the business together in King Street. They set up the venture together in March after deciding to move in a completely different career direction.
Gemma, aged 35, previously worked as a nurse at Featherstone Prison near Wolverhampton, while Jayne, 55, was a senior medical secretary at Compton Hospice for more than 20 years.
They decided to follow their dream and set up the tearooms together.
Gemma said: "It was something we always wanted to do. My husband said do it otherwise you will regret it so we did.
"It is really rewarding. I'm really enjoying it, working for ourselves, meeting new people and supplying Wolverhampton with cakes."
And the pair were overjoyed when their hard work paid off with the top inspection rating. They had only weeks to prepare for the visit.
Gemma said: "We were really over the moon with it. We took over in March and they visited in April. A lot of hard work has gone in and it is something we're really proud of."
