Chef Johnny Stanford to open fine dining restaurant in Worthing Pier
The 25-cover Tern will be located within Perch on the Pier, which is on the first floor of the Art Deco structure’s southern pavilion.
Offering ‘the finest views on the Sussex coast’ the restaurant will serve a produce-led menu.
A seven-to-eight course £85 tasting menu will be offered in the evenings while a smaller tasting menu will be offered at lunchtimes. On Sundays, a more relaxed a la carte offering will be available.
Example dishes include razor clam with elderflower, crème fraiche, pea, lavender and Riesling vinegar; Jersey Royal with smoked roe and wild garlic; lamb with turnip and nettle; and sweet cicely with rhubarb and sheep’s yoghurt.
“I believe that fine dining isn’t just for expensive ingredients like lobster, truffles and caviar. It’s what you can do with humble ingredients like a cauliflower or peas,” Standford say. “Taking something familiar and transforming it into something special is what excites me the most about cooking.”
“My inspiration comes from seasonality and my relationships with suppliers, hearing and seeing first hand the dedication, passion and effort that goes into creating their products.”
While his new restaurant will showcase Sussex produce, it won’t restrict itself to locally-produced ingredients with Tern also set to use high quality produce from across the UK.
Manchester born, Stanford began his career working with the late Paul Kitchin at his acclaimed restaurant Juniper in Altrincham, Greater Manchester.
He worked in a number of other top UK restaurants before settling in Sussex in 2012 initially holding the position of sous chef at The Pass near Horsham, which at the time was helmed by Matt Gillan and held a Michelin star.
In 2017 he took the reins at Pascere in Brighton as head chef, which though short-lived was well-received chalking up a number of favourably reviews in the national press.
He went on to cook at Jodie Kidd’s West Sussex gastropub The Half Moon in Kirdford.
Most recently, he headed up the fine dining restaurant AG’s at Alexander House Hotel in East Grinstead retaining its three rosettes for the past three years.
Tern is expected to launch in July.
