Aaron Dalton – whose top-flight cooking CV also includes Simon Rogan’s Fera, Chez Bruce and Dabbous – is already well-known in Sussex having run a series of successful pop-ups in Brighton and Hove under the Four name since 2016.
Also called Four, the 20-cover restaurant will initially only be open sporadically at Dalton’s Worthing home, but the chef hopes to extend its opening times as the project beds in.
The cooking will be ambitious with the chef set to maintain ‘as higher standard’ as he can with the ticketed menu expected to have a comparable number of courses and price tag to top restaurants in nearby Brighton and Hove.
Just ahead of the pandemic, Dalton and his wife Sally were poised to launch wood-fired cooking restaurant 15 Vine Street but their backers pulled out six weeks ahead of the launch scuppering the project.
Shortly afterwards, Dalton's wife was diagnosed with cancer.
“She died just before Christmas last year. I've got two little ones - a boy who is four and a girl who is three - so I've had to take a step back and focus on them. I haven't really been in the kitchen for three years.
“My commitment to our children means I can't work full-time in a restaurant, but I can run one from my home.”
Dalton has built the extension that houses Four himself from ‘the ground up’. The sound-proofed space comprises an open semi-commercial kitchen and seating for 20 as well as a large breakfast bar.
He is confident he will eventually be able to get a full licence for Four – which is located on a residential street close to Worthing train station – but will initially serve alcohol by means of a temporary events licence.
Launching in April
Four’s launch in March will see Dalton cook a free meal for the 15 or so staff at his children’s nursery who have provided significant extra support following the death of his wife.
The restaurant’s first paid-for service is expected to take place in early April.
Dalton is also planning a number of collaborative dinners. He will cook alongside Dave Mothersill at his recently launched Furna restaurant in Brighton on 1 March and is also set to team up with other high-profile local chefs including Michael Bremner and Duncan Ray.
“I'm going to see how Four affects my ability to bring up my children. Running a restaurant full-time is not conducive to being a good dad, especially as I am now a single father. But the plan is to transition to two or three days a week.
“Part of the reason I’m doing this is that I want to show my children that even though we have lost Sally I can still keep pushing for my dreams. You've just got to keep going.”
