5

The Cottage food hygiene rating

School/college/university · Ashford

The Cottage holds a 5, the highest food hygiene rating there is. At its last inspection the school kitchen met every standard the inspector checked, with nothing needing attention.

The rating: 5 - Very good

The rating dates from 14 January 2026, 5 months ago. Councils typically re-inspect higher-risk businesses every six months to two years, with well-run, low-risk places visited least often, so this is a normal gap.

Address: The Cottage Stonebridge Green Road, Egerton, TN27 9AP

How it compares in Ashford

That puts The Cottage among the 1,039 places in Ashford holding top marks, 89% 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 Ashford
5 out of 5 1,039 89% ← The Cottage
4 out of 5 90 8%
3 out of 5 18 2%
2 out of 5 10 1%
1 out of 5 3 <1%
0 out of 5 1 <1%

A further 107 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 Cottage 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.

Food hygiene ratings nearby

The closest food businesses to The Cottage, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.

Business Distance Rating Inspected
Egerton Village Store Retailers - other 0.5 miles away 5 - Very good 8 July 2024
Egerton Pre-school Playgroup Caring Premises 0.6 miles away 5 - Very good 22 June 2022
Egerton Millennium Hall Other catering premises 0.6 miles away Exempt

Questions about The Cottage

What is The Cottage's food hygiene rating?

The Cottage has a food hygiene rating of 5 out of 5 (very good), given by Ashford Council on 14 January 2026.

Is The Cottage 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 school kitchen to be very good, the top end of the scale.

When was The Cottage last inspected?

The Cottage was last inspected on 14 January 2026, 5 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Ashford Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at The Cottage?

The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "good", the cleanliness and condition of the building "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 Cottage compare to other places in Ashford?

89% of the 1,161 rated food businesses in Ashford hold the top rating of 5, and The Cottage is one of them.

Who decides the rating?

Ashford Council inspects The Cottage 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 Cottage and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.

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Understanding this rating

More food hygiene ratings near here

Ashford inspects and rates 1,268 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Ashford

The official record is held by the council: http://www.ashford.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 →