TO PREMIERE ON BBC AMERICA OCTOBER 2nd.

Notable Portland-raised, Brooklyn-based chef, Cody Utzman is a fighter.

Talk about cool on the outside, and burning on the inside, Utzman has followed his unyielding passion for creating and sharing new and exciting dishes through all sorts of interesting terrain.

From the opening of his much-loved Greenpoint spot, Papacito’s, championed by Gothamist for having the best vegetarian tacos in New York City, to the communal vibe of his Nassau Street haunt, Café Royal to his accessible caddy-corner bodega/bakery he calls Brooklyn Standard, Utzman’s intense commitment to bringing fresh, healthy and affordable food to his adopted neighborhood of Greenpoint is well-known and palpable.

See the trailer here:

http://www.bbcamerica.com/chef-race/videos/chef-race-30-second-spot/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7YiUyy3lvg

http://www.bbcamerica.com/chef-race/videos/meet-team-u-s/

Chef Race follows 16 competing chefs, 8 from the United States and 8 from Great Britain, on a chop and dice cross-country free-for-all towards a grand prize of $100,000. The show, launched by aforementioned executive producer Jamie Oliver, hosted by Claire Robinson (5 Ingredient Fix) and featuring judge/mentor, Michelin-starred chef Richard Corrigan, kicks off in Santa Monica and takes the group across the United States, all the way to New York City to meet with an end game that, of course, we can’t tell you about right now.

One quick breath and Cody’s back to it as he plans to open a new farm-to-table restaurant in 2013 in his childhood home state of Oregon which will bring his well-acquired NYC snap straight into Portland. Much more news soon to come on this and Chef Race, so please keep watching!