Health district doesn’t like what’s cooking at Chestnut Grove

WINSTED — The Torrington Area Health District has ordered residents at Chestnut Grove Apartments not to cook community dinners in the apartment building at 80 Chestnut St.The building, owned by The Winchester Housing Authority, has 80 apartments and is a federally funded complex for senior citizens.On the first floor is a community room with a meeting area, tables, chairs and a kitchen.Building resident Woody Woodmansee, organizer of the community dinners, said he started the events during the townwide power outage resulting from last October’s surprise nor’easter.“We had no power in the building except for the community room,” Woodmansee said. “We used the community room to feed people. We just started to cook, and we fed over 100 people a day. After the power came on, some residents said that it would be nice to continue with these meals on Saturday nights.”Woodmansee said that each Saturday, residents of the apartment building used the kitchen to cook meals and hold a social event. He said sometimes a band would play at the dinner, and there would be dancing.Woodmansee said that everything was fine until a resident of the building complained to the Torrington Area Health District in mid-February.The district regulates and inspects restaurants throughout the area.After receiving the complaint, the health district ordered Woodmansee and other residents not to cook community meals.David Paquette, who is a food service inspector for the district, said residents cannot cook and offer food to the public without a proper license.“Anytime the public is served food, it has to be prepared at a licensed facility,” Paquette said. “It is a residence. That is understood. But it is a residence where different residents from different housing units and guests are coming to the dinners. We are not preventing them from having a private party, but there are certain procedures that have to be followed if they want to serve food to the public.”Paquette confirmed that the complaint was made by a member of the apartment building, but would not reveal the name of the person who filed the complaint.“They just didn’t think it was right or safe to take donated food and prepare it in an unlicensed facility where they serve it to other residents and guests,” Paquette said.“It is obvious that someone did not want us to have a good time,” Woodmansee said. “The guy who came here from the health district told us that this place is much cleaner than many of the apartment complexes that he’s inspected.”Paquette said residents at the complex could file for a food service license, but they would have to follow the proper procedures.“If they want to serve food to the public on a routine basis, they would need the proper equipment,” Paquette said. “They would need to purchase commercial-grade equipment, including a commercial-grade stove and refrigerator. They would also have to follow building code and fire marshal regulations.”If the residents fully comply with the regulations, Paquette said it is possible they could file for a class three license that would allow the preparation of food as long as it is consumed within four hours.Paquette said the license would cost $330.In the meantime, Woodmansee has gotten around health district regulations by purchasing and serving premade food.On Saturday, Feb. 25, Woodmansee, along with several other residents of the apartment building, served up slices of pizza from Little Caesars in Torrington.“We have had a setback, but it won’t knock us out,” Woodmansee said.

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