Proto Restaurant Group is proud to be a part of the ‘Go Red Campaign’ for the Love Your Hospitals charity which Proto Restaurant Group owner Andy Sparsis is a patron of.

All of our restaurants have been fully supportive of the charity in the past with Food Restaurant hosting the launch of the Cath Lab Appeal back in June 2011 and The Fish Factory sponsoring the Superhero Fun Walk for the same cause in September 2011.

The latest fundraiser in support of the new £1million cardiac cath lab is ‘Go Red in Feb’ and Proto Restaurant Group are doing exactly that on Valentines Day. All members of staff at all three of our restaurants have been invited to wear anything red and donate a minimum of £1 to the charity. Why not book a table on the 14th February and come along dressed in red and support the cause yourself. Call 01903 227780 (Food), 01903 207123 (The Fish Factory, Worthing) or 01903 715000 (The Fish Factory, Littlehampton) to check availability and book a table.

Proto Restaurant Group is calling everybody else to support the Cardiac Cath Lab Appeal and join in with ‘Wear Red in Feb’, even if it’s just a red tie, red socks or red lipstick, it can be absolutely anything red, the important thing is you take part and donate a minimum of £1 per person to the appeal. Proto’s aim is to get as many businesses in Worthing to ‘Wear Red’ to raise as much money as possible for a worthy cause.

There will be a ‘Go Red in Feb’ Wall of Fame at Worthing Hospital, so everybody that get’s involved with be placed on the wall and receive FREE promotion at the same time so please get involved and support your local community.

To get involved please contact Lesley-Anne or Tina at Worthing Hospital at hello@loveyourhospital.org or phone: 0800 028 4890. Check out the website www.loveyourhopsitals.org for more info.

Malcolm Somner, Lady Mary Mumford and Andrew Sparsis

Having been around since 1824, RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea, more than 139,000 to date! They provide a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service around the coasts of the UK and RoI, as well as a seasonal lifeguard service on many of the busiest beaches in England and Wales.

The Fish Factory Team

The RNLI also works to promote sea and beach safety. They rely on more than 40,000 volunteers – on lifeboats, at stations, on beaches, and in fundraising.

If you would like to hear more about our RNLI evening, or simply fancy a great night out with excellent food, call The Fish Factory, Littlehampton on 01903 715000 to book a table. Alternatively come in and visit us in Worthing by calling 01903 207123 or visit us in our fantastic Food Restaurant by calling 01903 227780.

You may not be aware of it, but there is a nationwide scheme in place to recognise members of the armed services for the sacrifices they make for us. This scheme is called ‘Heroes Welcome‘ and it has come to Worthing thanks to Sharon Clarke, Worthing Town Centre Manager and Tim Loughton MP. Proto Restaurant Groups, The Fish Factory and Food restaurants are the first restaurants in Worthing to sign up for the scheme.

More than 50 towns and cities have already signed up to the scheme and Sharon Clarke – Worthing Town Centre Manager – say’s it’s about time Worthing got involved:
“Sunny Worthing always offers a warm welcome but this scheme helps businesses to show their appreciation to members of the armed services and the sacrifices they make for us.”

Andy Sparsis was presented with his Heroes Welcome stickers – which will be displayed in the windows of Food and The Fish Factory – on the 16th September with Tim Loughton MP, Mayor Ann Barlow and Councillor Tom Wye present to officially launch the scheme in Worthing and congratulate Andy on leading the way in Worthing.

Upon receiving his sticker for both restaurants, Proto owner Andy Sparsis had the following to say about the armed forces:
“Having lived in many countries around the world, sometimes we the British public, forget how safe we are in the UK and we forget to whom we owe this complacency too.”

The Heroes Welcome doesn’t stop at current service personnel, the welcome extends to ex-service personnel, their families and the families of those whose lives have been lost in service. Proto Restaurant Group would like to extend an open invitation to all that fall under the Heroes Welcome to come and visit Food in New Street (01903 227780) and The Fish Factory in Brighton Road (01903 207123).

The Super Hero Fun Walk was organised as the main fundraising event for the Cath Lab Appeal. The appeal for the ‘Love your Hospitals’ charity was launched at Food restaurant in spectacular fashion on Thursday 9th June. (See this blog).  The Love your Hospitals charity fund-raises for Worthing, Southland and St. Richard’s hospitals and Proto Restaurant Group owner Andy Sparsis, and his wife are patrons of the charity.

The event was a complete success and The Fish Factory was pleased to be part of such an important event and worthwhile cause. Andy Sparsis and his family all dressed up as Batman (and Woman) as they started the walk and encouraged hundreds to take part, raising thousands of pounds.

To hear all about it, come into The Fish Factory, Worthing. Book a table by calling 01903 207123.

The Sparsis Family

Food and The Fish Factory provided all the food, drink and service in the events VIP area, catering for all the performers and event organisers. It was the 10th year running Proto Restaurant Group has been involved in the garden party and it was an absolute pleasure to be involved again.  It required a huge team effort and the brilliant staff from both restaurants in Worthing helped out to make the event a huge success.

Splash FM Garden Party

The Garden Party provided 10 hours of live music over two days and is the largest tribute festival on the south coast. The event also took the opportunity to raise funds for the Worthing Churches Homeless Project which is a charity close to Proto Restaurant Group, having celebrated their 20th anniversary at Food restaurant back in May.

Both Food and The Fish Factory are pleased to be involved with such a success for another year and all the staff are already looking forward to next year.

Proto Restaurant Group are always happy to host your party or event at any of their restaurants, so get in touch at Food (01903 227780), The Fish Factory, Worthing (01903 207123) and The Fish Factory, Littlehampton (01903 715000) to get more information or to book a table.

Proto Restaurant Group will be involved in the Splash FM Garden Party for the 10th year running when it comes to Worthing on 22nd and 23rd July. The Garden Party provides 10 hours of live music over 2 days from some of the greatest tribute acts around. This year features ‘Ultimately Kylie‘, ‘Achtung Baby‘ (U2 Tribute), ‘Millenium Robbie‘, Melissa Totten (Madonna Tribute) and ‘and finally Phil Collins‘ as well as great local support acts. The Splash FM Garden Party is the biggest tribute festival on the south coast and Proto Restaurant Group has exclusive access.

As the only source of DISCOUNTED TICKETS, Proto Restaurant Group members can enjoy cheaper tickets to this amazing event thanks to all the work that Food Restaurant and The Fish Factory do behind the scenes at the garden party. Visit this link to get access to our exclusive offers including buying tickets for a night in the green room!

Proto Restaurant Group is in charge of the VIP tent at the party which means providing food, drink and service to all of the performers and event organisers. This requires a huge team effort and the brilliant staff from both restaurants help out enormously as well as the restaurants  providing the food and drink for the event. Proto Restaurant Group, Food and The Fish Factory have been involved for the past 9 years in the same capacity and it is an absolute pleasure to be involved again.

There were 15 awards given out throughout the evening including sporting star, pub of the year and the courage award which were won by Harrison Reed, Bar Release and Shane Wallace respectively. Other notable winners were the Mum and Dad of the year awards won by Wendy Robinson and Scott Mellhuish.

Proto Restaurant Group - Splash Awards 2011

Proto Restaurant Group is especially proud to be sponsoring an event with such awards as it rewards those that really deserve it, especially Mum’s and Dad’s who quite often don’t get the recognition they deserve.

Details of all the award winners can be found at the Splash FM website.

Proto Restaurant Group also walked away with an award winning Restaurant of the Year for Food. Karen Warland, the Floor Manager at Food Restaurant had the following to say about the award:

“Thank you very much to everyone that voted for us, we really appreciate it.  All we ever do is try our best to give good quality food and excellent service.  Thank you everyone for your continued support.”

Proto Restaurant Group - Splash Awards 2011

Alberto Castro, who is the Executive Chef at Food, was absolutely delighted with the award:

“Thank you to all the customers from all the team for your continued support. It is a privilege to be working as an Executive Chef at Food restaurant.”

Nominations for Food Restaurant were for the quality experience that is offered – including the lavish, open plan dining room,  it’s welcoming and attentive staff, and the entertainment, which includes regular live jazz – and a number of themed evenings through the year.

The entire evening at the awards was a joyous, laid back and exciting evening for all those that attended, with notable attendees including Worthing Mayor Ann Sayers.

If you want to come and see just exactly why Food won Restaurant of the Year, come in and visit us.

Call us on 01903 227780 to book a table.

There are a total of 15 categories, each aimed at recognising businesses that have succeeded over the last 12 months and individuals that have gone the extra mile this year to help others.

The categories are:

The Proto Restaurant Group at the Splash Awards

The Proto Restaurant Group – Food Restaurant and The Fish Factory (Worthing and Littlehampton) – is extremely proud to be involved in the awards as we feel that it is right to honour and celebrate those people that go the extra mile in our community. There are many great individuals in our area and they need to be recognised.

If you fancy having a chat with us about the awards and how you can nominate, call us on 01903 227780 (Food), 01903 207123 (The Fish Factory Worthing), 01903 715000 (The Fish Factory Littlehampton).

We thought it would be interesting to ask some questions to the event organiser, Freda Hughes in order to get a better idea of what the competition involves, and how it benefits those that enter.

Who was last years winner, and why did they win? How did they stand out?

Isabella Camburn won last years competition and stood out to the judges as she came across as a very confident girl, which the Judges deemed an important factor – especially when knowing that the prospective Carnival Queen would be presented to all members of the local Community and general Public, and would be able to engage in a variety of events throughout the year.

What did Isabella get for winning?

Isabella also won prize money of £500, Day wear and a Ball gown.

What has Isabella been up to since winning Littlehampton’s Carnival Queen 2010?
Since winning the Competition, Isabella has attended a variety of events, including our main event – the Littlehampton Carnival, other local carnivals, and Bonfire Night, Wheels Day, The Town Show, Winter Wonderland,  Armed Forces Day & Remembrance Sunday.  Isabella also attended Harbour Park, where she looked after under privileged and disabled children.

Isabella Camburn - Littlehampton Carnival Queen 2010

What are the judges looking for in this years potential Carnival Queens?

The Judges are looking for a confident girl, who can adapt to all situations, a “people person” who is not afraid to talk and integrate with members of the general Public, Local dignitaries, councillors etc. They will also be looking for someone who is smartly dressed, has an enthusiasm for Littlehampton, and has a vivacious personality.

Have you had any entries yet?

The Carnival Competition was launched last week, and we have had 1 entry so far, interestingly from a former Junior Carnival Queen, who is entering again as she enjoyed her year with us, over 2 years ago.  We have had many enquiries, and hope that, like all other previous years, we will be looking at aprox 10-20 entries.

When and where will the event be held?

The Date for the Contest is March 20th 2011 and will be held at The Fish Factory. All entrants need to send a photo into the Littlehampton Gazette, and then they will be contacted in due course buy our Carnival Queen Coordinator – Bobby Hall, to discuss the time to meet on the 20th, and a general discussion about what is involved.

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If you would like information about the Littlehampton Carnival Queen Contest call Mrs Freda Hughes who is the President of the Littlehampton Carnival and her number is 01903 716634. Alternatively you can email Freda at fredahughes@aol.com.

We look forward to meeting all the entrants at the competition. Good luck!

If you wish to visit The Fish Factory contact us on 01903 207123 for Worthing and 01903 715000 for Littlehampton. Or why not visit Food, Proto Restaurant Groups other restaurant in Worthing, call us on 01903 227780 to book a table.

RIP. All of us at Proto Restaurant Group will miss you Coppo