A British tourist died from an allergic reaction after consuming hot chocolate and a churro at a cafe in Buenos Aires, an inquest has heard.
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inquest → die → Aires
Harry James Kitto, 24, was 'repeatedly reassured' his food did not contain nuts when he arrived at the popular destination, Café Tortoni, in November 2025.
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he → reassure → November
He had been travelling across South America with his girlfriend Naomi, visiting Mexico, Guatemala and Peru, before arriving in Argentina.
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He → travel → Argentina
After checking into their accommodation, the couple made their way to the cafe where they sat down and ordered their food.
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they → check → food
They asked staff in Spanish whether the churros contained peanuts, due to Mr Kitto's severe intolerance, and ate one after being told they did not.
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they → ask → one
However, Mr Kitto, who described himself as a barber and photographer on social media, soon began to feel unwell and felt as though he was having a reaction – prompting his girlfriend to ask staff to confirm whether the dish contained nuts.
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dish → describe → nuts
The couple were told again that it did not – and after ordering a second churro, Mr Kitto started to feel seriously unwell again.
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Kitto → tell → churro
His girlfriend advised him to make himself sick to get the food out but he reported feeling slightly better, the inquest in Truro heard today.
Harry James Kitto (pictured), 24, was 'repeatedly reassured' his food did not contain nuts when he arrived at the popular destination, Café Tortoni, in November 2025
He had been travelling across South America with his girlfriend Naomi, visiting Mexico, Guatemala and Peru, before arriving in Argentina
Mr Kitto, who described himself as a barber and photographer on social media, soon began to feel unwell after consuming food in a cafe and felt as though he was having a reaction
The couple took the underground back to their accommodation where Mr Kitto's EpiPen was – a medical device that delivers a rapid dose of epinephrine (adrenaline) to treat life-threatening severe allergic reactions.
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that → advise → reactions
But as they arrived at the metro station Mr Kitto began having difficulties breathing.
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Kitto → arrive → difficulties
His girlfriend rushed to retrieve his EpiPen but as she returned to administer it, she found Mr Kitto unconscious on the ground surrounded by people.
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Kitto → rush → people
An ambulance was called and arrived around ten minutes later and Mr Kitto was given adrenaline but his heart stopped as they reached the hospital.
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they → call → hospital
Paramedics managed to resuscitate Mr Kitto and he was put on a ventilation machine.
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he → manage → machine
However, the inquest heard how, despite staff's best efforts at the Hospital Ramos Mejia in Buenos Aires, Mr Kitto's brain was found to be irreversibly damaged.
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brain → hear → Aires
His life support machine was switched off and he passed away surrounded by his family on November 7, 2025.
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he → switch → November
At the time of his death his family said their hearts had been 'broken beyond words', adding: 'For over a week, Harry showed extraordinary strength and determination - the same strength that made everyone who knew him so proud.
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who → say → him
He had been travelling through South America and was just days away from returning home when tragedy struck.
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tragedy → travel → America
'Harry fought so hard, and we have never been prouder of him.
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we → fight → him
He had been travelling through South America and was just days away from returning home when tragedy struck', his family said
Mr Kitto had been posting photos from his trip on his Instagram and TikTok account, with snaps showing him on the Salkantay trek and reaching Machu Picchu in Peru.
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Kitto → travel → Peru
A GoFundMe set up to repatriate his body raised nearly £57,000 in one day and has since amassed more than £70,000 in donations.
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GoFundMe → set → donations
Mr Kitto's grieving parents, Leigh Kitto and Kerry Burt, had both posted tributes on Facebook as they announced his death.
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they → grieve → death
Leigh Kitto wrote: 'Sadly our son Harry passed away in Argentina doing what he loves most.
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he → write → what
'Please can I ask that you take the time to read about Harry and his cause in the link below and any contribution, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated.
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contribution → ask → link
'Love you son, until we meet again.'
Ms Burt said she was 'heartbroken' - adding the family would 'face the unimaginable task of bringing him home'.
GoFundMe organiser Jay Wicks later confirmed Mr Kitto's body had arrived back in Cornwall on December 1.
He said any remaining funds raised, following the repatriation, would be donated to the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation.
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funds → love → Foundation
The inquest heard how Harry's father and brother went to the same Café Tortoni a few days later and ordered the same dish the Truro-born man and his girlfriend had eaten.
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man → hear → dish
Again they asked the staff if the churro and hot chocolate contained any peanuts and were told it did not.
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it → ask → peanuts
However, when they took a sample to a lab to be tested, the churro was found to contain 20mg of peanut protein per kilo.
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churro → take → kilo
Assistant coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Emma Hillson concluded it was more likely than not that it was the peanut proteins in the churro which led Mr Kitto to suffer an anaphylactic shock and later respiratory depression and unsurvivable brain damage.
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which → conclude → shock
Ms Hillson concluded an accidental death.
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Hillson → conclude → death
The Aporia
