Masterchef winner Kenny Tutt is preparing to open his first restaurant in his home town.

Kenny, who won the BBC cooking contest last year, has announced the launch of his own venture, Pitch, in Worthing.

The restaurant is set to open in Warwick Street in May, and Kenny has said he wants it to be an homage to the heritage of the town.

He said: “My favourite thing about food and cooking is the way that it brings people together, so opening up my own restaurant is a dream come true.

“The fact that I am doing so in my home town of Worthing is the cherry on the top.

“I’m so excited to open the doors of Pitch in May, I can’t wait to share the dishes I’m creating.

“I’m working hard on the menus at the moment and am thoroughly enjoying getting out into the countryside and meeting with my wonderful producers.”

Kenny, 36, said the menus are currently under construction but he has offered a glimpse of what diners can expect.

His example dishes include doughnuts with whipped goats’ cheese, toasted hazelnut and thyme jam; ham, egg and chips (Sussex ham hock with shirred eggs, chips and gooseberry chutney) and chocolate cereal – cereal panna cotta with peanut butter, chocolate pretzel crackle and chocolate yoghurt sorbet.

The restaurant will span two floors and include a private dining room.

Kenny hopes the top floor will eventually be home to the Pitch Cookery School, which may be opening later in the year.

Prior to winning Masterchef, father-of-two Kenny was focusing on his career as a bank manager.

He is still in the role at Santander in Brighton.

Kenny said opening his own restaurant has been his dream ever since he was young and cooked alongside his mother in the family kitchen.

There is no official opening date for Pitch yet but it is expected to open its doors to the public at the end of May, with a soft launch taking place beforehand.

The site was previously home to an Italian restaurant, Nonna’s.

Bookings will be available from April 26.

To find out more about Pitch visit www.pitchrestaurant.co.uk