A Rochester food shop got Medway's only 1 in September. Of 83 food hygiene ratings that month, 67 were the top mark of 5, including seven school kitchens.
A food shop on Delce Road in Rochester was given Medway’s only food hygiene rating of 1 in September. Every other business inspected that month scored 3 or better.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) register now shows 83 ratings with a September inspection date in Medway. 67 of them are 5, the top mark. That is 81%.
The one rated 1
| Business | Type | Address | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester Food Store | Shop | 106-108 Delce Road, Rochester ME1 2DH | 22 September |
The FSA record shows how the shop scored on the three things an officer checks:
- Hygienic food handling: good
- Cleanliness and condition of the building: improvement necessary
- Management of food safety: improvement necessary
So the food handling itself was rated well. The marks were lost on the state of the premises and on the checks and records the business keeps. A business can appeal, ask for a re-inspection once it has made improvements, or publish a right to reply on the FSA site.
Rated 3: generally satisfactory
| Business | Type | Address | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra Kent Cash & Carry | Shop | 147-149 High Street, Gillingham ME7 1AQ | 22 September |
| New Happy Palace | Takeaway | 247 Canterbury Street, Gillingham ME7 5XE | 22 September |
| Peking Chef | Takeaway | 177 High Street, Rainham ME8 8AY | 3 September |
| The Snack Shak | Other caterer | ME5 (no address published) | 10 September |
Peking Chef appears twice on the register, under two record numbers with the same address, date and scores. We count it once here, but it makes up two of the five 3s in the chart. The FSA does not publish full addresses for some caterers, often because they work from home.
Rated 4: good
Ten businesses were rated 4:
- Bare Bones, 137 High Street, Rochester
- Chatham Cash & Carry, 36-38 Luton Road, Chatham
- Coffee House, 173A High Street, Chatham
- Curry Chemistry Cafe / Dezi Cafe, 124 High Street, Chatham
- Kent General Stores, 96 Canterbury Street, Gillingham
- Medway Food Centre, 43-45 Luton High Street, Chatham
- Rainham Arms, 120 Wakeley Road, Rainham
- T3 Snacks, ME3
- The Candy Store, 183 Station Road, Rainham
- TRECC, 138-140 Luton Road, Chatham
Among the 67 fives
The fives cover every kind of kitchen. Some readers will recognise:
- Seven school kitchens run by Caterlink, at Balfour Infants, English Martyrs in Strood, Fairview in Wigmore, Greenvale, Hempstead Infants, St Peter’s Infants in Rochester and St Augustine’s in Parkwood
- Four pubs: The Huntsman on Pattens Lane, The Ship on Bill Street Road, Strood, The Stag in Wainscott, and The Who’d Ha Thought It on Baker Street, Rochester
- Four nurseries and pre-schools: 1st Friends Day Nursery on Will Adams Way, Parkwood Christian Fellowship Preschool, Rainbow Pre-School at Mierscourt Primary and Rochester Pre School on Albert Road
- Planet Ice at the Silver Blades rink on Gillingham Business Park, and Creams at Medway Valley Leisure Park
- Gurkha Fire, the caterer at Chatham Fire Station
- Pureplanet Cafe at the Eternal Lake nature reserve on Buckland Road
What changed since August
Our August roundup named two businesses rated 1: Aquarius Residential Home in Chatham and Darjeeling Heights in Rainham. On 2 November the register still showed both at 1, from their August inspections, with no new rating pending.
Why we waited for September
A rating is not published on the day of the inspection. The business first has 21 days to appeal, so the lower ratings tend to reach the register weeks after the fives. On 12 October the register showed 68 September ratings, and 66 were 5s. Three weeks later it shows 83, and the 4s, 3s and the 1 have arrived.
October shows the same pattern now: 60 ratings so far, every one a 5. We will count October properly at the end of the month.
What it means for you
- Check before you order. Every rating is on the FSA’s search page, with the three scores behind it. Businesses in England do not have to display their sticker.
- Look at the three scores, not just the number. Rochester Food Store’s rating of 1 came from the building and the paperwork, while its food handling was rated good.
- Ratings change. A business can ask for a re-inspection, appeal, or publish a right to reply.
The rating covers food hygiene on the day of the visit. It says nothing about taste or service. Our Medway food hygiene overview has the district-wide picture.
Source: Food Standards Agency food hygiene rating data for Medway Council (local authority 295), all 2,145 establishments, retrieved 2 November 2026 and filtered to ratings with an inspection date between 1 and 30 September 2026. Ratings can be appealed, and a business can publish a right to reply on the FSA website.
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