Growing Underground

05/07/2006

Next week sees the airing of the BBC’s urban chef(1): a programme that follows the quest of Oliver Rowe, owner of restaurant Konstam at the Prince Albert to find all his ingredients from within the area covered by the London Underground(2).

In its first week of opening Konstam boasted dishes including Pan fried chicken livers with creamed nettles on toast, Thames fish'n'chips cooked in beer batter, and rhubarb pavlova. Only a smattering of ingredients come from outside his designated area, such as salt from Essex, and sugar and rapeseed oil from Suffolk.

London Food Link, who specialise in making sustainable food more available in the capital(3) have helped Konstam to find these local producers. Other work includes:

helping London’s hospitals, for example15% of ingredients at the Royal Brompton are now from local/organic sources;

pioneering work with black and ethnic community businesses, encouraging them to grasp the ‘green’ market potential;
helping develop the Mayor’s first food strategy launched this week (22nd May 2006), having run the consultation and a number of projects for their food team.

Ben Reynolds of London Food Link comments:

‘It has been fantastic to work with this landmark restaurant. It sets a precedent for what can be done, despite everyone saying that there wasn’t enough being grown in the UK, let alone around London. Konstam is the first of a new wave of restaurants listening to consumer demands to know where and how their food has been grown when eating out.’

For press enquiries ring Ben Reynolds at London Food Link on 020 7837 1228/ 07939 202 711.

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Notes

The ethos behind the restaurant is echoed in the events of London Sustainabilty Weeks (LSW) which begins the same week that Urban Chef is aired on BBC2. London Sustainability Weeks runs from 4th – 18th June. LSW will see events all across the capital for Londoners trying to live a greener life, such as Better Food in Croydon on 10th June, and West Hampstead Local Food Festival 14th – 18th June. For information on events go to http://www.londonsustainabilityweeks.org/ or contact Christopher Harris on 020 8968 4601

1) Urban Chef will be airing at 6.30pm, every week day Monday 5 June – Friday 17 June, BBC TWO. For more information on the Urban Chef contact Sarah Bolwell and Sean Harris of Franklin Rae Communications, sarah@franklinrae.com or 020 7317 5400

2) Konstam at the Prince Albert, 2 Acton St, WC1X 9NA King's Cross 020 7833 5040

3) London Food Link is a project run by Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming. London Food Link runs a network of organisations and individuals with members as diverse as farmers, food writers, caterers and community food projects. Both London Food Link and its members run projects that help to: increase the availability of sustainable food in London; tackle the barriers preventing access to sustainable food for all Londoners; and celebrate and protect London's diverse food culture. London Food Link is funded by Defra’s Environmental Action Fund and the EU European Regional Development Fund.

Why local food?

Buying more local food is important for the following reasons:

Transport – A recent Defra report estimates that the social and environmental costs of food transport are around £9 billion every year. (Paul Watkiss et al, The Validity of food miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development. London: Defra, 2005)
Money earned by the community stays in the community. Every £10 spent with a local food business is worth £25 for the local area compared to £14 return when using non-local food businesses. (New Economics Foundation Plugging the Leaks 2002)

Why restaurants?

London Food Link is helping restaurants to exploit the huge potential for this sector to better support local and sustainable food.

34% food in UK is eaten out of the home, (in US it’s 48%) It’s estimated by 2025 that 50% of food consumption will be out of the home. (Food and Drink Federation Eating out of Home Trends 2000)

However, only a fraction of restaurants offer sustainable options on their menus, despite overwhelming desire from consumers for more:

During 2002-3, the UK market for organic food & drink grew by over 10% and annual sales now exceed £1billion. (Organic Market Report, Soil Association, 2005).
65% of shoppers buy local whilst a further 9% would like to if it was available. This is compared with 61% purchasing last year. Of those purchasing 40% would like to buy more if it was more available. (Gerardine Padbury, Retail and Foodservice Opportunites for Local Food IGD, 2006)