Hotel fined after 'dairy-free' meal had milk in

A hotel and its owner have been fined more than £5,500 after a dish sold as being dairy-free was found to have traces of milk in.

York Magistrates' Court heard Trading Standards Officers were served the meal during a visit to The Curious Fox, in Skipton, despite specifically asking for a dairy-free option.

At court the hotel and owner Lee Sharville, who were crowned winners of the 2024 series of reality TV show Four in a Bed, pleaded guilty to four food safety offences.

The Curious Fox Ltd was ordered to pay £4,362.50, while Sharville, from Farnhill, near Keighley, was ordered to pay £1,218.50.

The court heard North Yorkshire Council Trading Standards officers visited the premises on 26 November 2025.

After requesting a dairy free dish they were served a meal of pan fried seabass, which later tested positive for the milk protein casein.

When Sharville was interviewed under caution, the court heard he could not explain how the protein came to be in the food, or provide evidence on staff training.

In his defence, the court was told, he had gone through all the products on the menu with his staff, identifying vegetarian and gluten free options.

There were no dairy-free products recorded on the menu, but staff, when asked, had tried to make the meal dairy-free.

The court heard that Sharville admitted the responsibility had been with him, and that since the incident an outside consultancy firm had been employed to give training on health and safety to staff

Richard Foster, North Yorkshire Council's executive member for managing the environment said it was "vitally important that businesses are aware of their duties when it comes to allergens".

He added: "Customers must be able to trust that information provided about the food they are ordering is accurate, particularly where an allergy or intolerance could have serious consequences for their health."

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