Kicking off a Crowdfunding campaign, Tern restaurant has an important point to make

Why one small restaurant is backing  the new generation of regenerative  British farmers – and what it means  for the future of UK food. 

 Cheap imports, supermarket dominance, and broken subsidy systems are driving farmers out of business, yet one independent restaurant on the South Coast is making a quiet revolution — with plates full of purpose.

Tern, in Worthing, West Sussex, is believed to be the only restaurant in the UK, aside from Jeremy Clarkson’s ‘The Farmer’s Dog’ pub, to source 100% of its ingredients, wines and spirits exclusively from within the British Isles.

Since opening in 2023, Tern by chef-director Johnny Stanford has won two AA Rosettes, landed a place in the Michelin Guide, and earned acclaim for its inventive, refined menus.

But its real innovation runs deeper: a radical, no-import ethos built around regenerative British farming.

“Anyone who’s watched Clarkson’s Farm knows just how hard it is to farm well in this country,” says Stanford.

“But if restaurants don’t support our farmers now, there may not be any left to support.

“ This is our way of investing in Britain’s land, its people and its future.”

Tern doesn’t just buy local, it curates from the UK’s most committed low-intervention producers: those healing soil, restoring biodiversity, and pushing back against the damage of industrial agriculture.

From Knepp’s rewilded pastures, to truly seasonal vegetables, heritage grains, rare-breed livestock, and all-British vineyards like Titch Hill, Kinsbrook, and Artelium, every ingredient comes with provenance and purpose.

“We know our farmers, we know what they’re planting next, and why,” says Stanford.

“It’s a relationship, not a transaction, that’s how you build something lasting.”

The restaurant’s drinks list is equally bold; a full bar stocked with only British wines, spirits, meads and mixers, proving that excellence doesn’t need to be imported.

“You can taste the difference – veg with depth, meat with integrity, grain that actually has flavour,” Stanford says.

“This isn’t supermarket filler, it’s produce with purpose.”

In the post-Brexit scramble, as UK food security becomes more precarious and public interest in home-grown, sustainable agriculture grows, Tern offers a rare, working model: a restaurant that isn’t just cooking seasonally, but contributing to food system repair.

“This isn’t a fad, if we want an ecological future that actually works, it starts with soil, that’s the root of everything.

“We’re not chasing scale.

“We’re chasing substance.

“Small farms, short distances, full-flavoured food.

“That’s the model, it’s simple, but not easy, and that’s the point.

“We’ll never be rich doing it this way, but we’ll sleep well,” says Stanford.

“We cook with care, we pay people properly, and we stick to what we believe in.

“That’s the deal.”

Tern’s new crowdfunding campaign – now live – aims to raise £65,000 to build a new, permanent home in Worthing after the decision to close their pier-end restaurant, also in Worthing.

You might say, one good Tern deserves another!

The larger space will include a fully open kitchen and a dedicated British cocktail bar, built on the same values of traceability, regeneration, and hospitality with conscience.

Mood Boards for new Bar (above) and Restaurant (below)

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/ternrestaurant

Website: www.ternrestaurant.co.uk