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.

Down Town Cyprus Sandwich

Another new dish on the menu is the “Moscow Merchant’s Kiev” - British chicken breast minced and stuffed with garlic butter, leeks and chives. Oven baked in bread crumbs served with mash potato. This is one of the favourite dishes in the restaurant at the moment and we really recommend you come in and experience it for yourself. Call us on 01903 227780 to book a table and view the full menu online here.

It’s not just the lunch menu that’s had a refresh for the New Year though, we’ve updated our main menu with the amazing addition of our Paella Stuffed Squid for just £14.90! Why not see what else our main menu has to offer?

It’s not just Food Restaurant that is undergoing a menu update though, The Fish Factory will soon be launching it’s new Spoil Menu so keep checking back here for updates on new menus, dishes and events at Proto Restaurant Group.

Call us at The Fish Factory Littlehampton on 01903 715000 or at Worthing on 01903 207123 to book a table or come and see us at Food in Worthing, call us on 01903 227780 to book a table.

Stuart Slevin

How are you finding the role of Executive Chef at The Fish Factory?

It’s brilliant. Obviously there are added pressures being the Executive Chef but im getting to do lots of other things like Health & Safety and Food Hygiene checks which is really good. The NVQ in Management that I completed before we spoke last year has come in really handy and I now have lots of lovely spreadsheets and training documents everywhere, which is nice because it’s what I’m interested in anyway!

Has anything changed in your role during the year?

I’ve basically just gained more and more responsibility as the year has gone on really. I’m now the Premises Alcohol License Holder which means that any sales of alcohol are my responsibility so it’s important I ensure everybody is following the appropriate age laws which to be fair, everybody here is excellent at doing.

The management side of things has really taken a prominent role as well, im doing a lot more consulting with the restaurant managers and other chefs which is also nice.

What does 2012 have in store for the menus?

Well, we are updating the spoil menu for the new year, including bringing back the Bouillabaisse after so many requests! Since we last spoke as well, we have introduced Sunday Roasts at The Fish Factory, offering a choice of either Beef or Pork and we are now selling 30/40 of them each Sunday which is great! Who knows, we might add Lamb to the list too, but for the time being we’ll definately stay clear of Turkey, let everyone recover from Christmas first!

Enough about work then, what do you get up to outside of work?

I love to cycle! This year me and Proto owner Andy Sparsis completed the London to Brighton bike race which was brilliant! It was my 18th time completing the course but my first for 5 years so I really enjoyed getting back into it. As part of that, we initiated a cycle to work scheme for Proto Restaurant Group and now numerous members of staff at Proto cycle into work everyday which is just fantastic!

So, the Olympic year has arrived, being a keen cyclist are you excited?

To be honest, im still quite upset about the ticketing for the event! It’s disappointing that so many people couldn’t get hold of tickets for such a once-in-a-lifetime event in this country, I just feel like we’ve all been scammed!

That said though, obviously not everyone that comes over for the games will be staying in London, so hopefully with our excellent position on the coast with good transport links to London, plenty of people will come and stay in Worthing and Littlehampton and bring us lots more business. It can only be good for businesses in our area.

So there you have it, that’s Stuart Slevin, Executive Chef at The Fish Factory. Why not come in and meet the whole team? Call us at The Fish Factory Littlehampton on 01903 715000 or at Worthing on 01903 207123 to book a table or come and see us at Food in Worthing, call us on 01903 227780 to book a table.

There was an article in the Evening Standard on 12th October, which talks about Worthing’s growth as a town and how it is stepping out of the shadow of it’s big brother, Brighton. The article goes on to explain exactly why Worthing is such a catch, with fantastic architecture, brilliant schools, great pubs and superb restaurants. Proto Restaurant Group’s two Worthing based restaurants – Food and The Fish Factory – are mentioned as the rated places to eat in town by locals.

Proto Restaurant Group, Food and The Fish Factory are all extremely proud to be doing their bit towards putting Worthing on a map. Proto always likes to get involved with the local community with fundraisers and charity events as we feel that Worthing deserves to be regarded as highly as Brighton as it is such a fantastic town.

Not only are Proto pleased to be mentioned in the article, but they are proud to have restaurants situated in a town on the up! To book a table at any of our restaurants, call us on 01903 227780 (Food), 01903 207123 (The Fish Factory, Worthing) or 01903 715000 (The Fish Factory, Littlehampton).

To read the full article, click here.

A quote was included by Jane Blackman, presumably one of the reader’s that voted for Proto Restaurant Group’s restaurant, The Fish Factory:

‘The best fish and chips in the area with amazing service and a huge choice of seafood, as well as veggie options.’
Jane Blackman

Everyone at The Fish Factory and Proto Restaurant Group are extremely proud of this achievement, especially as only four restaurants were selected from the South East, meaning The Fish Factory, Worthing beat off plenty of competition to earn a place in the magazine.

The full article can be found here with The Fish Factory located on the right hand side of page 2 (in the blue box for South East).

If you would like to book a table at The Fish Factory and experience just what is so special about the restaurant, call us on 01903 207123 or come in and visit us on Brighton Road, Worthing.

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

Meet Tom McCarthy - Proto's Resident Building Contractor

Meet Tom McCarthy – Proto Restaurant Group’s resident building contractor. Tom has been our resident building contractor for many years now and he always finds the time for all work that needs to be done.  He hand-built the bar in The Fish Factory in Littlehampton.

When Tom has some rare time off, he loves to study history. He is particularly interested in Medieval history and geographically, England, Ireland, Scotland and France are the most interesting countries because it is interesting how they all interact with one another. We asked Tom what his favourite piece of history was, and he said: “My favourite King was Richard III, he was a good man but the tudors gave him a lot of bad press. He was a family man and he brought in many good laws including making it illegal to lock a man up without a good reason. Richard III was also the last king to be killed in battle.” We think that Tom has a naturally ability to explain history really well, and we asked him if he had ever thought of becoming a history teacher. Tom confided that he would of loved to have studied to be a history teacher, but he had a wife and family to support so studying was not an option.

Tom is also a keen supporter of Portmouth Football Club and he also likes to woodturn in his spare time. He makes lots of gifts for his family. Lucky family we say!

Why not come down to The Fish Factory in Littlehampton and Worthing, and Food in Worthing, where you can see Tom’s handy-work for yourself. If you like what you see in our restaurants, let us know and we can pass his details onto you.  Tom is currently in the pipeline of launching his website and we will keep you posted on this.

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.

All 27,000 participants, whether taking part as a serious cyclist or a novelty entry set out to achieve the common goal of helping raise £4 million towards the BHF’s continued work.

Andy Sparsis, Warren Bagnall and David Camci.

Andy Sparsis entered the ride as part of a team of 5 including Executive Chef from The Fish Factory, Stuart Slevin and team members David Camci, Warren Bagnall and Daryl James.

Everyone at Proto Restaurant Group is extremely proud of the team and the group’s representatives within. It is just another example of the work Andy does for charity and the community having only just launched the Cath Lab Appeal for the ‘Love Your Hospitals’ charity.

To hear all about the bike ride, come in and see Andy and Stuart at The Fish Factory, Worthing by calling us on 01903 207123 to book a table, or visit either of the other two restaurants  where Andy Sparsis is always likely to be by calling us on 01903 227780 (Food) or 01903 715000 (The Fish Factory, Littlehampton).