Under-fire Worthing chef Kenny Tutt said there was no money in the bank to pay staff on time – 'but they will be getting what they are owed'

Pitch restaurant, in Warwick Street, shut for the final time at the end of July – with ‘economic struggles’ blamed for the decision to appoint liquidators.

A letter to a member of staff from independent business advisory firm Quantuma, which has been seen by the Worthing Herald, referred to liquidators being appointed for Pitch Foods Ltd and informed staff their contacts of employment were terminated as of Monday, July 31.

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Tutt said: “The reason Pitch came to close is nothing more than the restaurant took on a huge amount of debt over Covid.

"From that point, we were trying everything possible to keep that site going.

"It's a big building. The utilities were astounding the way they jumped up from £1,500 a month, for gas and electric, up to £5,000 a month. That's just one utility without water and food prices increasing.

"We use a lot of oil in the kitchen and that went from £19 a barrel to nearly £40 a barrel. Everything shot through the roof.

"We explored all the avenues. We looked very deeply into an administration route where there would be some possibility of selling the business. We tried exploring it for a couple of months and nothing came of it to the point where we ran out of time.”

Mr Tutt, who won MasterChef in 2018, closed Bayside Social on Worthing seafront in April, before it was announced he would be opening a new Patty Guy burger restaurant in Worthing Dome cinema.

Following the closure of Pitch, the celebrity chef has faced backlash online, with disgruntled workers alleging on social media that they were not informed of the closure. Some claim they found out the news online and say they haven’t been paid their wages, forcing some to need to use foodbanks.

A lengthy post published on a Worthing Facebook page claimed staff are owed wages, holiday pay and tips. It added some staff now cannot pay their rent or even afford to buy food as their income has suddenly stopped without warning.

In response to claims made against him, Mr Tutt added: “We had to make the hard decision of going down a liquidation route which was extremely tough. We were trying to make sure everyone was aware.

“I told the staff and released it to the public all in the morning and early afternoon. It's a tightrope no one can walk particularly well.

"It's a very difficult situation. You have to speak to many groups. Of course the fantastic team, suppliers, public, people with bookings.

“It wasn't a decision we suddenly came to. We did the best we possibly could. We contacted everyone, invited everyone in and were very frank with what was happening.

"All the information was given. We instructed a local liquidation company and you do the best you can. It's not a nice situation for anybody.”

Mr Tutt said the majority of the Pitch team has been re-employed in his new Patty Guy venture.

“With staff, I need to make sure we still have a successful business and something I can offer them,” he said.

“Staff will be getting all of their pay – notice pay and holiday pay. It takes a little bit of time, as liquidation is not an overnight thing.

"The team have all definitely been contacted with the process. We are working hard to make sure their payments come through as quickly as possible.

"We are dependent on the liquidation process. If there was money in the bank, staff would get their payments instantly but there just wasn't.

“They will receive their payment, there is no doubt about that. We are just making sure we are doing everything we can to make sure the liquidation process is completed as quickly as possible. There is only so much we can control.

"Of course, it's not ideal but the staff will be getting what they are owed, 100 per cent.

"We've contacted local businesses to try to get people jobs. I've had chefs work with me from the start for five years contact me to say they've got great new jobs with people I've given references to.

"I've tried my very best to make sure that people had the work so they can jump straight into employment.”

The chef confirmed that any deposits paid for future events will be paid back, adding: “There are no deposits outstanding for any Christmas parties. With vouchers, we've offered people to use them at the new site. I will do whatever I can with what we've got.”

Mr Tutt has also faced criticism for opening up a new burger restaurant when he couldn’t afford to keep Pitch running – and ensure staff were paid on time.

However, the chef said this is an entirely separate business – which will be cheaper and easier to manage.

“Definitely after Covid, street food businesses are a little more affordable for people but still doing great, quality stuff,” he said.

"It seemed to weather the storm a lot more. They are two very different things, set out completely differently.

“Pitch Foods LTD has gone through a real storm. You name it, there's been every sort of challenge on the way. We've not managed to build up any assets. We didn't have that opportunity so we had nothing to lean back on.

"We were relying on borrowing whatever you can to keep going. People's eating habits have changed. The bookings at Pitch restaurant pretty much overnight went down by 70/75 per cent. That's not sustainable at all.

"Stuff that is a bit more affordable that everyone can enjoy has a little bit less risk. The new business has almost fashioned itself from those hardships of the past.

"The company behind Patty Guy is still a new business as well so I've got a commitment to those staff as well. It's a fine balancing act.

"We were very conscious about all of these things towards the end about how we could do the best we can in a very tough situation.”