Home Chef International Flavors

• gradeGrade A ⏳
• grade postedSeptember 11, 2025
• inspection score41 pts
• critical violations4
• last inspectedOctober 8, 2026 →
• address231-14 Merrick Boulevard, Queens 11413
• cuisineCaribbean
• phone7187495745

Is Home Chef International Flavors clean?

Home Chef International Flavors currently carries Grade A ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). It was posted on September 11, 2025 and still stands. The place has been inspected again since — on October 8, 2026 scoring 41 points — but NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has not ruled on that visit, so no new grade has been issued. Inspectors wrote up 4 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder the posted grade reads clean 😇; the numbers above come from the newer visit.

What did inspectors find at Home Chef International Flavors?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 8, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🐛pest / contamination issuecritical
  Properly scaled and calibrated thermometer or thermocouple not provided or not readily accessible in food preparation and hot/cold holding areas to measure temperatures of TCS foods during cooking, cooling, reheating, and holding.
• 🗑️garbage situation out of pocket
  Pesticide not properly labeled or used by unlicensed individual. Pesticide, other toxic chemical improperly used/stored. Unprotected, unlocked bait station used.
• 🚰handwashing sink issuescritical
  No hand washing facility in or adjacent to toilet room or within 25 feet of a food preparation, food service or ware washing area. Hand washing facility not accessible, obstructed or used for non-hand washing purposes. No hot and cold running water or water at inadequate pressure. No soap or acceptable hand-drying device.
• 🐭they've got roommates (mice)critical
  Evidence of mice or live mice in establishment's food or non-food areas.
• 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pests
  Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
• 🍲hot food sitting too coolcritical
  Hot TCS food item not held at or above 140 °F.

When was Home Chef International Flavors last inspected?

Home Chef International Flavors has 7 inspections on record going back to November 17, 2022, averaging 23 points.

Graded visits shown below · newest first · tap a date for the record

Home Chef International Flavors vs Laurelton

Laurelton runs 80% clean across 48 tracked restaurants — 33 clean, 1 mid, 7 cooked.

Against the 48 spots Cooked tracks in Laurelton, this one comes out cleaner than 20% of them.

Other spots in Laurelton

• A Kelly D Jamaican And American Restaurant
  clean · December 5, 2025
• A Merrick Jerk
  clean · July 14, 2026
• A Erica's Caribbean Cuisine
  clean · November 21, 2025
• A Garden City Chinese Restaurant
  clean · February 11, 2026
• ⏳ Crown Fried Chicken
  cooked · September 15, 2026
• A Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill
  clean · August 28, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Laurelton →

How New York grades restaurants

New York City health inspectors score violations in points, and lower is better: 0–13 points earns an A, 14–27 a B, and 28 or more a C. Every restaurant is inspected at least once a year, and the letter has to be posted in the window. A restaurant that scores 14 or more on the first inspection of a cycle does not get a letter right away — it stays “Grade Pending” until a re-inspection settles it, which is why some spots here show an hourglass instead of a letter. Cooked only ever shows a letter the city actually posted; we never infer one from a score.

Read the New York ratings guide →

Inspection findings and available history come from the authority’s published records. Cooked checks daily; publication can lag behind an inspection. Read the date on each result and check the official source for newer information.

Source: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) via NYC Open Data. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated October 8, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

check your own block 📸

Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.