MasterChef champion to open his first restaurant in Worthing town centre

One of Worthing's favourite exports is returning to his roots to open a restaurant in his home town.
Kenny TuttKenny Tutt
Kenny Tutt

Kenny Tutt, crowned MasterChef champion in 2018, has chosen Worthing's Warwick Street – in the space formerly occupied by Nonna's Kitchen – as the location for his first restaurant, PITCH.

With an opening planned for May, Kenny said PITCH will pay homage to the heritage of his home town, celebrating home-grown and locally sourced produce.

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“My favourite thing about food and cooking is the way that it brings people together, so opening up my own restaurant is a dream come true," he said.

"The fact that I am doing so in my home town of Worthing is the cherry on the top. I’m so excited to open the doors of PITCH in May, I can’t wait to share the dishes I’m creating – I’m working hard on the menus at the moment and am thoroughly enjoying getting out into the countryside and meeting with my wonderful producers.”

PITCH will take on the form of a workshop, with diners greeted by surfaces covered in herbs and botanicals ready to be freshly picked for use in Kenny's dishes.

The restaurant will span two floors, including a private dining room. The top floor will eventually be home to the PITCH Cookery School, a rustic, warm and inviting space where guests will immediately feel at home – the School will be opening later in the year, with the main restaurant forming the initial focus.

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The PITCH menus are currently being carefully curated by Kenny, for which he is drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, including the local Worthing area and surrounding Sussex countryside, British suppliers, and childhood memories. Example PITCH dishes include:

Starter: Doughnuts: Whipped goats’ cheese, toasted hazelnut & thyme jam

Main: Ham, Egg & Chips: Sussex ham hock with shirred eggs, chips and gooseberry chutney

Dessert: Chocolate Cereal: Cereal panna cotta with peanut butter, chocolate pretzel crackle & chocolate yogurt sorbet

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Kenny was crowned MasterChef Champion in 2018, becoming the 14th amateur cook to claim the title. Cooking runs in Kenny’s family – his mum is a fantastic cook and he has been cooking alongside her since he was a child. Prior to winning MasterChef, Kenny was concentrating on his career as a bank manager, but his champion title has opened many new doors and PITCH was always the ultimate dream.

The 15th series of MasterChef is set to start tonight (February 11) at 9pm on BBC One.

PITCH will be opening at the end of May, with a period of soft launches before officially opening the doors. To find out more and be kept up to date with all the latest PITCH news, visit www.pitchrestaurant.co.uk and follow @kennytutt and @pitchrestaurant on Instagram.