'Within four hours we had £140,000 in pledges' - William Sitwell on Casa Wivey
Food critic William Sitwell has unveiled ambitious plans to breathe new life into The White Hart in Wiveliscombe.
His latest project will see the historic pub reinvented as Cava Wivey a stylish boutique hotel paired with a modern Italian restaurant.
Well known to audiences nationwide, William is a regular on MasterChef, where his wit and culinary insight have made him a standout guest critic.
Now, he is embarking on a new journey in a quaint town in Somerset.
The White Hart, a well-known fixture in the town, recently closed its doors. William's vision is to breathe new life into the building with a concept that blends authentic Italian dining with the warmth and accessibility of a family-friendly restaurant, alongside a stylish bar and dedicated workspace.
Read more: Restaurant critic William Sitwell set to revive Somerset pub
tHE VISION
William explained the plan behind bringing an Italian restaurant to the town: “Over the last few years, we've seen the closure of basically three of the main hospitality outlets in the town, which is really sad… I just think it's really important that we have a thriving hospitality sector to serve the people. So my plan is to try and acquire this beautiful little hotel and what we don't have around us anywhere near us is a good Italian restaurant. And as we all know, accessible Italian restaurants are very popular.
"It's a great choice for families. We could create a really chic and lively restaurant, beautifully refurbished with great service and a simple sort of classic Italian menu of pastas, great meats and pizza, which we can also do to go.”
Early Support and Fundraising
He described the remarkable reaction from the local community and early investors: “What excites me is that literally within four hours of announcing my plan, we had about £140,000 worth of pledges… locals who are going, ‘We need this. We love the idea and we're willing to put our money where our mouth is, invest in it, and invest in being regular customers of the place.’ I had an email from someone saying, literally, ‘You've made my day. I was sitting here in my kitchen with my husband feeling sad about the economy, and you've literally made our day to purchase £20,000.’ That to me is great.”
Balancing Critic and Restaurateur
William acknowledged the unusual dual role he is stepping into: “I’ll still be a restaurant critic—obviously, that’s the majority of what I do, I write some 4-5,000 words a week. So I’m in this psychological complexity of being poacher turned gamekeeper every week. I’m a critic and I’ll be a restaurateur, I hope. Let’s see what happens. Let’s see
if I can raise the money.”
The Menu Vision
He shared an early vision of the type of food and experience he hopes to create: “We’ll have a really lovely range of pastas. We’ll have things like pork Milanese, ossobuco, slow-braised shin of veal, lovely roast lamb and roast potatoes with thyme and rosemary. We’ll try and source really good Italian ice cream - the gelato you only ever get on holiday.
"I’ve got good friends who run Italian restaurants and good contacts in supply, so I want to bring a really good quality offering that people can afford as well. I definitely want to sell good, fresh, fizzy Prosecco, and I want to create a nice workspace too, so after school drop-off people can work with Wi-Fi, stay for a sandwich, and rely on us being open all day, every day.”
Community and Identity
For William, the project is also about celebrating and strengthening local pride: “There’s an amazing community spirit in Wiveliscombe. One of the reasons why the name Casa will be at the White Hart is because it alludes to being Italian but also has the name of the town in it. That’s important - it’s for the town, and I want people to be proud of Wiveliscombe.”
Moving From Critic to Restaurateur
He admitted the challenge feels daunting, but one he is ready to embrace: “From being completely and utterly terrifying and feeling that I’m doing something absolutely insane, I’m actually fine with it. People are intrigued to see whether I can put my money where my mouth is. I’ve eaten in and described so many restaurants, spoken to so many restaurateurs, landlords, farmers, suppliers… I think I know what makes a good restaurant. It remains to be seen whether I can put that into practice, but I think I’ve got a good chance with the experience I’ve had. Running the numbers is a whole different ballgame, but we’ll see.”
Support From the Industry
William also reflected on the encouragement he’s received from chefs and colleagues: “I spend most of my time writing very positive reviews - sometimes negative - but I think in general I’m a great cheerleader for hospitality. It’s so important that, in spite of the threat of governments trying to tax hospitality out of existence, we fight back and try to be bold and open places. Opening a restaurant does inspire a kind of madness, a kind of lunacy, but the encouragement from strangers on Instagram, from chefs I’ve never met, from chefs I do know - even John Torode saying, ‘I’m here to help’ - is wonderful. With that momentum, we’ve got a chance.”
Written by ABi Kinsella
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'Within four hours we had £140,000 in pledges' - William Sitwell on Casa Wivey
