Worthing chef excited to open new fine dining restaurant - 'It felt right'

Three-time rosette-winning Johnny Stanford – the former head chef of AG’s at Alexander House Hotel – plans to open a new establishment called Tern this summer.

It will be a fine dining restaurant set on the first floor of the southern pavilion of Worthing Pier, known as Perch on the Pier.

"Worthing has always been a place I'd love to open a restaurant in,” Johnny said, in an exclusive interview with the Worthing Herald and Sussex World.

"I didn't think it was ready for it but in the last two or three years, all these independent places have popped up.

"It felt right to open up something at the higher end of the food scene. It seems to have been really well received. I was terrified when it first went out but I've had nothing but nice feedback.

“You get some of the usual comments but it caters for different people. It's been really nice. Everyone has been really welcoming.

"I’ve had loads of emails asking when we're opening.”

Worthing is fast becoming a haven for food lovers and now the town ‘may well be on it’s way to boasting its first Michelin star restaurant’, a spokesperson for Tern said.

Johnny is thrilled by the opportunity to open Tern this summer and is ‘driven to create an experience that is sure to delight and surprise guests in equal measure’, Tern said.

Johnny – originally from Manchester – worked in Horsham and Brighton before starting a family in Worthing, which he said is a ‘lovely place to be’ and hopes this restaurant will ‘bring more people into the town’.

He added: “If people eat here, they might stay at a hotel and go somewhere else the next day.

“You can point people in the right direction. That's what I want to be about.

"This all happened really quickly. The offer came up and I jumped at it. This opportunity, in this location, is never going to come up again.

"I thought if I don't do it now, I'm never going to do it. I thought let's get it done.

"My background is fine dining. It always has been since I left school. I've always toyed with the idea of owning my own place but it's mega expensive. You have to find someone who will invest, luckily enough I did.”

Johnny said said Tern – which could open as early as July – will be a ‘small restaurant’, catering for up to 26 people.

He said: “All tables are for two people – it's for special occasions or if you want to treat yourself. Let someone else take care of things for the night with drinks and food.

"We are only aiming to use sustainable British produce, as much as we possibly can – from sea salt right to the wine and spirits.

“We are such a small country, so we can get crabs from Cornwall, shellfish from Scotland and beef or lamb from the Lake District.

"It's nice to have a platform and showcase stuff that I'm excited about.”

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