New series Talented young chef Oliver Rowe set himself a challenge: to run a restaurant in the heart of London, having sourced all his ingredients within access of the London Tube.

In this article

Episode one Episode two

Episode three Episode four

Episode five

Week one (5-9 June)

Before opening his new £300,000 restaurant in London’s Kings Cross in June 2006, chef Oliver Rowe was on a hunt for ingredients sourced only from within access of the London Underground.

Ollie’s first aim was to find a quality supply of vegetables and he looked to London allotment holders for help. But did Ollie manage to find a loop hole in the 1922 Allotments Act, which prevents allotment growers selling their produce commercially? Ollie also met forager Fergus Drennan, who helped him hunt for London mushrooms.

• Wild mushroom bruschetta
• Barnet leek, parsnip, beetroot and potato soup

Today’s episode found Ollie seeking advice on the best technique for planting broad beans in his new-found North London allotment.

Ollie visited Spitalfields City Farm in East London to seek out fresh milk and eggs for the restaurant, and sampled honey made from bees kept on the rooftops of London tower blocks. Later he harvested his sister’s apple tree and made a classic French apple tart.

• Spitalfields revueltos with mooli salad
• Tarte tatin

Sourcing ingredients from within London was proving to be more difficult than Ollie had imagined, and with regular 16-hour shifts at his café, his project was creating a strain on his relationship with girlfriend, Julie.

Ollie made his radio debut on BBC London Live, which yields a useful list of calls and text messages from listeners keen to help him with his venture. He visited G.R. Wright & Sons flour millers at Ponders End, who are happy to supply flour for the restaurant. Plus, a pork farm right at the edge of the Tube map agreed to supply him with chops.

• Fennel and goats' cheese pasties
• Amersham pork chops with Barnet celeriac mash and apple and ale gravy

With Ollie having not signed the lease on his new restaurant, his builders were refusing to start work on the site. Did he solve this issue in time to get the refurbishment underway?

Ollie visited Billingsgate Market, one of the largest suppliers of fish to London. But even London’s biggest fish market can’t help: most of the traders don’t source their fish in the Thames Estuary, and the majority don’t even buy it from the UK as they can’t get the large quantities required.

Ollie met angler Nick Hart, who took him to Syon Lake near Hounslow, where they caught and cooked a trout, though Ollie soon admited that ‘one trout does not a restaurant make’.

• Hounslow rainbow trout with garlic and herbs
• Pan-fried London sprats and mixed leaf salad

Ollie believed the time had come to put his new local-sourcing ethos into practice, and he agreed to cater for 40 guests at a Christmas party for Sustain, a leading sustainable food and farming charity.

Despite adding a few more suppliers to his address book, Ollie kept coming up against the problem of finding producers who can provide the large quantities required for his restaurant. Plus, the bank and his mortgage advisor are on his trail...

• Ruislip herb and honey panna cotta
• Braised lamb with celery

Episodes six to ten

Get recipes from the second week of Urban Chef