The Urban Chef is a British cookery television series produced by Seven Stones Media in which chef Ollie Rowe takes on the tricky task of opening his new restaurant (Konstam at the Prince Albert) in London's Kings Cross, and sourcing all the ingredients from within the M25.
The series originally aired in the UK on BBC Two in 2006. There are 10 half-hour episodes in the series.
The Urban Chef premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC Food channel on Thursday 12 June 2008, at 22h30. Double episodes air back-to-back every weekday.
Repeats
(Double episodes)
Weekdays: 10h30, 16h30
Synopsis
Is it possible to run a London restaurant with all the ingredients sourced locally?
Fed up with trying to purchase quality affordable food, the exact origin of which is hard to trace, for his current establishment, and frustrated by not being able to deliver great locally produced food, it is Oliver Rowe's intention that every item on the menu of his new restaurant will be sourced entirely from producers and suppliers within London.
That means no chicken from Thailand, no lamb from New Zealand, no vegetables from Greece. In this modern age, London is not exactly renowned for its local produce but talented young chef with ambition to burn Ollie is certain he can do it.
In just six months, Ollie must refurbish a derelict old pub, and hunt down all his suppliers, mobilising a small army of producers to provide his restaurant with enough food so that 400 people can eat seven days a week, 52 weeks a year in his restaurant.
There is just one rule - all of Ollie's suppliers must be accessible from the Tube.
Could this huge undertaking revolutionise the way that city-dwellers think about the way they eat?