Restaurant critic and MasterChef judge William Sitwell is to open an Italian restaurant near his home in Somerset after taking over a 17th-century former coaching inn that has recently closed.
William announced the plan in an Instagram post this week, in which he appealed for investors to help fund the transformation of the White Hart in Wiveliscombe, West Somerset into a “chic hotel and Italian restaurant“.
He says: “Casa Wivey will be a fabulous, accessible family restaurant with a great bar and work space and I’m teaming up with the best in the business in the area to make it happen.
“After 25 years writing about food and drink this is my first serious venture into the hospitality business alongside the hugely successful Sitwell Supper Club. Join me on my journey and become an investor. Let’s do this! Long Live Wivey! Keep Wivey Great!”
He is working with local pub operators Jon and Millie Coward on the project, and is looking to raise at least £1.25million from investors, who will receive an array of benefits including a 15% discount at Casa Wivey.
William is the Daily Telegraph’s restaurant critic, where he is notable for some savage reviews; recent victims include Tom Kerridge’s Chelsea pub The Chalk, Kokin Japanese restaurant in Stratford, east London, Tom Brown at The Capital, and Lore of the Sky, Guy Ritchie’s US-style smokehouse in Dorset.
He also writes right-wing opinion columns for the paper, and recently abandoned the Conservatives to join Reform. A long-time controversialist, he resigned as editor of Waitrose Food Illustrated in 2018 after making a joke about killing vegans.
