Filthy eatery ignores ban By CHRIS TINKLER and MILANDA ROUT 16mar03
A NOTORIOUSLY filthy Melbourne curry house is still packing in customers despite not being registered to serve food.
In a confidential session late last month, Melbourne City Council refused to renew the Rajah-Sahib Tavern and Tandoori Grill's registration as a food premise due to repeated food safety breaches.
But staff at the Queen St restaurant said it was fully booked last night and too busy even to provide take-away meals.
Manager Larry Mendonca, who is appealing the registration refusal in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court next month, told a potential customer who visited the restaurant on Friday afternoon that she could make a booking that evening.
Yesterday, when the woman phoned again to ask whether she could have a dinner table for five people, she was told by a staff member the restaurant was booked out from 6.30pm.
Favourites on offer for $12 at the well-known eatery, which counts several international cricket stars among its customers, included chicken korma, lamb rogan josh and beef vindaloo.
The Food Act states that food premises must not operate without a registration, with the owner facing a $5000 fine for a first breach and $10,000 for subsequent offences.
Council environment committee chair Kate Redwood said officers would investigate.
Mr Mendonca and family company Candolim Pty Ltd are already facing 58 counts of alleged food offences between March and July last year.
The case, brought by Melbourne City Council, is due to be heard in court in May. Mr Mendonca could face up to two years in jail if found guilty.
In 2001, he was fined $8600 for six food offences, including selling sub-standard food, preparing food unfit to eat and failure to keep premises in a clean and sanitary condition.
Those charges came after food inspectors found mould-encrusted chutney jars, slimy green chicken and food three years out of date at the restaurant.
Last April, the Rajah-Sahib earned the dubious honour of becoming the first Melbourne CBD restaurant in more than a decade to be shut down by the Department of Human Services.
Inspectors had seized more than 50 food items - some with 1994 use-by dates - appearing to contain insects or mould.
Mouse droppings, grime, food stored in a toilet room, utensils in the back yard and a leaking roof were also discovered in the raid.
It was given a clean bill of health by the DHS and the council in May and allowed to reopen.
Within weeks the eatery, which made its name hosting international sports teams, was catering for the Indian men's hockey team and Pakistani cricketers.
Other celebrated visitors have included Ian Botham, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner and Shirley Bassey.
Mr Mendonca was not available for comment yesterday evening.
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