A CHEF at an award- winning restaurant risked food contamination by failing to maintain hygiene standards.

Jonathon Furby, licensee and chef at The Linnet at Great Hinton, stored ready-to-eat food with a dust-covered sack of potatoes and left meat defrosting on a workbench.

The Park Lane-trained chef also failed to provide a place for staff to wash their hands before preparing food.

The state of the kitchen was revealed after surprise visits by district council health officials.

Furby, 33, admitted one charge of failing to keep premises clean and maintained and in good repair and condition, and two charges of failing to ensure stored food was protected to minimise risk of contamination.

He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £808 costs by Chippenham magistrates.

The court heard the breaches were discovered 12 months ago.

Chris Smyth, prosecuting, said: "Leaving food defrosting on a workbench increases the risk of food contamination and he failed to provide a separate place for staff to maintain basic hygiene."

In July inspectors visited the pub to find defrosting meat left out above cooked meat and caramelised hazelnut stored beside dust-covered potatoes.

Furby is a well-respected chef who took the pub to the last four of the Pub Restaurant of the Year two years running, and won the 1999 Catering Pub of the Year while working at the Pear Tree in Whitley.

Tim Hammick, defending, said: "Things just weren't as they should be. This is not a man who goes around knocking over hamburgers and chips and leaves them there.

"He is passionate about his job and this has caused great distress and disturbance."

Wadworth Brewery based in Devizes owns The Linnet but the day-to-day running is left to Furby.

A spokesman said: "He realises he made a mistake but they are comparatively minor charges. It was not as if he has poisoned lots of people.

"He has hundreds of letters from customers saying how satisfied they were with meals at the pub."

The brewery is not considering separate disciplinary action.

Richard Wiltshire, the district council's environmental services portfolio holder, said: "There are strict food safety regulations that must be followed.

"This case highlights that failure to maintain basic food hygiene standards will not be tolerated."