MasterChef UK winner Kenny Tutt, after closing his restaurant Pitch, has been accused of not paying the staff, leading to their outrage.
The news
Former bank manager Kenny Tutt, who won the 2018 edition of the BBC show MasterChef UK, beating out fellow finalists Nawamin Pinpathomrat and David Crichton, has made a name for himself and opened various restaurants, including Pitch. However, Pitch is the second restaurant the 41-year-old has closed within three months in Worthing, following the closure of Bayside Social in April.
Outraged employees from Pitch (a restaurant serving contemporary and traditional British cuisine) have stated that they were not informed about the closure, were not paid, and were instructed to reach out to liquidators to claim their owed wages.
A post on the Worthing Directory's Facebook page claims that some staff members learned about their job loss through social media and news reports and did not receive their wages on the last payday. A portion of the lengthy statement reads: "Staff are entitled to wages, holidays, and tips. In my son's case, his salary was £2,000 per month, and he was owed £800 in holiday pay as he worked without taking leave to afford his bills." Additionally, each staff member was receiving around £400 in tips per month. In a statement shared with Metro.co.uk, Tutt mentioned that the staff will be paid, although it might take three to five weeks.
The director stated: "We are working through the process of closing the company, including the formal liquidation process, which takes time. We are also using the redundancy payments service, which means all staff will receive full payment, including holiday pay, redundancy pay, and notice pay. This process can take three to five weeks."
Both Kenny and his business partner and wife, Lucy, are ready to open another establishment in Worthing after submitting an application for permission to add a café to the Dome Cinema.
