Lemon tree thief frustrates chef of Kensington Rd, Rose Park, restaurant Orso
Celebrity chef Andre Ursini is calling on the public to help him track down a thief who keeps stealing lemon trees from the front garden of his Kensington Rd restaurant, Orso. SEE THE FOOTAGE
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Opening an ambitious new restaurant in the heart of Adelaide’s leafy eastern suburbs has not been without its challenges for celebrity chef Andre Ursini.
But the MasterChef television star, 38, is now dealing with an unforeseen, bizarre problem – a lemon tree thief.
Ursini opened the successful European eatery Orso in an old bluestone manor on Kensington Rd, Rose Park, last November.
Since then, at least four mature lemons trees, which retail for $80, have mysteriously disappeared from his property.
After the latest theft early on Sunday morning, an enraged Ursini, of Glenelg, went public with his fury.
He aired his sour feelings on Wednesday, amid claims the lemon thief had hit some of Adelaide’s most affluent suburbs. Ursini plans to visit police today and is offering a reward to help catch the thief.
Posting security vision from a CCTV camera on social media, he vowed “there will be no rock unturned, no ocean too far and no desert too wide for this man to hide from me”.
The 26-second clip, dubbed to the Fool’s Garden song Lemon Tree, shows a middle-aged man, dressed in jeans and a red chequered shirt, strolling outside Orso at 6.30am before ripping a tree from the ground and fleeing.
The chef believes the same man is responsible for the other thefts.
After the vision went viral online, several customers reported their fruit trees had also been targeted throughout Rose Park and other suburbs including Unley and Norwood. Other witnesses reported seeing the suspect later “loitering” around the area.
Ursini told The Advertiser he was offering a $500 dining experience for “anyone who comes to us with his identity”.
“It is not about the lemon tree, it is the principle,” he said.
“I’ve left a hole in the ground to give him the opportunity to do the decent thing, put it back and replant it.
“I never go on Facebook but I thought it was such a pathetic, low and strange act and we got such great footage I felt I had to do something. The response has been incredible.
“I really want to find this guy because it is just wrong.”
An SA Police spokeswoman said a report of the theft had not been received but an investigation would be launched once a complaint was filed.
Anyone with information is urged to call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.