Jamie Oliver and his venture partner are seeking $22 million from private investors to help fund 30 of the U.K. celebrity chef’s Italian restaurants across Asia.

Oliver and partner Tranic Ltd. aim to raise $12 million by November and a further $10 million by the end of 2010, with the first six Jamie’s Italian restaurants to open in Hong Kong and Singapore, said Edward Pinshow, chairman of Tranic. The others, which may be in Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia, are planned within five years.

“We’re taking a very selective approach, targeting high net worth individuals, boutique private equity firms and some large family names in Asia,” Pinshow said in an interview in Singapore today.

Jamie’s Italian International Managing Director Kevin Bacon and Hong Kong-based Pinshow have been touring the region this week meeting potential investors and scouting for restaurant locations. The neighborhood-style eateries will be based on the chain of six restaurants Oliver has in the U.K. that serve dishes such as lamb-chop lollipops, turbo penne arrabiata and posh truffle chips.

“The restaurants will all be Jamie’s Italian, but they’ll be individually styled with some local elements incorporated into the design,” Pinshow said. “We’re also considering establishing an organic farm in Hong Kong which could supply some of the produce.” Other ingredients including salami and buffalo mozzarella, sourced by Oliver’s Italian mentor, Gennaro Contaldo, will be flown in fresh from Europe, he said.

Finding Investors

The venture between Jamie’s Italian, founded in 2007, and Tranic has hired boutique advisory firm Amias Berman & Co. to help find investors, who will take an as yet undisclosed equity stake. An initial team of about 10 has been on the ground in Asia for several months, working on logistics, brand management, real estate, training and operational support.

Pinshow said he was confident the Jamie’s Italian concept would succeed in Asia.

“When it was first announced we would open a restaurant in Hong Kong, the bookshops everywhere suddenly had Jamie Oliver cookbooks, merchandise,” he said. “There’s a lot of awareness.”

Oliver, 34, became a household name after his 1999 television cooking series, “The Naked Chef.” His training of underprivileged youths into professional cooks and his campaign to improve school food in the U.K. have been made into hit television documentaries such as “Jamie’s School Dinners.”

Chefs working in Oliver’s restaurants in Asia will have the opportunity to train in London, Pinshow said. “The talent pool here in Asia is deep enough but there’ll still be a lot of mentoring, a lot of training,” he said.

The Jamie’s Italian restaurants in the U.K. are in Oxford, Kingston, Guildford, Bath, Brighton and Canary Wharf. A seventh location in Cardiff is due to open next month.

Source: Bloomberg News