5

The smoking cow food hygiene rating

Mobile caterer · Cambridge City

The smoking cow holds a 5, the highest food hygiene rating there is. At its last inspection the mobile caterer met every standard the inspector checked, with nothing needing attention.

The rating: 5 - Very good

The rating dates from 17 August 2024, 22 months ago. That is getting on for the longest gap councils usually leave, so the score may not reflect how the business is run today.

How it compares in Cambridge City

That puts The smoking cow among the 998 places in Cambridge City holding top marks, 78% of everywhere the council rates. A 5 is the norm here rather than the exception, so it is the rating to expect, not to be impressed by.

Every rated food business in Cambridge City
5 out of 5 998 78% ← The smoking cow
4 out of 5 198 15%
3 out of 5 56 4%
2 out of 5 25 2%
1 out of 5 10 1%
0 out of 5 0 0%

A further 187 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.

What the inspector found

An inspection scores three things: how food is handled, the physical condition of the premises, and how much the inspector trusts management to keep standards up. At The smoking cow none of the three raised a concern, the overall rating is only ever as strong as its weakest area, so a clean sweep is what produces a high score.

Questions about The smoking cow

What is The smoking cow's food hygiene rating?

The smoking cow has a food hygiene rating of 5 out of 5 (very good), given by Cambridge City Council on 17 August 2024.

Is The smoking cow safe to eat at?

The rating covers hygiene standards found at inspection, not the food itself. At 5 out of 5, the inspector found hygiene standards at this mobile caterer to be very good, the top end of the scale.

When was The smoking cow last inspected?

The smoking cow was last inspected on 17 August 2024, 22 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Cambridge City Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at The smoking cow?

The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "good", the cleanliness and condition of the building "very good", and confidence in the management of food safety "good". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.

How does The smoking cow compare to other places in Cambridge City?

78% of the 1,287 rated food businesses in Cambridge City hold the top rating of 5, and The smoking cow is one of them.

Who decides the rating?

Cambridge City Council inspects The smoking cow and sets the rating; the Food Standards Agency publishes it. Neither the business nor this site can change a rating, a business that disagrees can appeal to its council, and can request a re-inspection once it has fixed the problems.

Tell me when this changes

The Food Standards Agency publishes only a business's rating today, not what it scored before, and not when it moves. We check every UK rating each night. Watch The smoking cow and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.

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Understanding this rating

More food hygiene ratings near here

Cambridge City inspects and rates 1,474 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Cambridge City

The official record is held by the council: http://www.cambridge.gov.uk

Rating from the Food Standards Agency under the Open Government Licence. Ratings reflect standards found at the time of inspection and can change. If you think a rating is wrong, the official record is held by the FSA and the local authority; corrections there flow through here. How ratings work →