The chefs competing in Birmingham:
Tom Barnes, L'Enclume Restaurant, Cumbria
Craig Beacham, The Elephant Restaurant, Devon
Adam Jay, Murano, London
Adam Rasburn, Design House Restaurant, West Yorkshire
Dylan Owens, The Church Green, Cheshire
Richard Pascoe, Oulton Hall, West Yorkshire
Judges will be Alain Roux, Steve Love (Roux Scholar 1997) and Sat Bains (Roux Scholar 1999).
The chefs competing in London:
Sam Carter, USB Bank (Restaurant Associates), London
Shane Cooke, Credit Suisse (Restaurant Associates), London
Scott Dineen, Goldman Sachs (Baxterstorey), London
Alex Floyd, Ashdown Park Hotel, Sussex
Sabrina Gidda, AIG Group London (Restaurant Associates), London
Daniel Lee, La Chapelle (Galvin Restaurants), London
Daniel Miles, Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Wiltshire
David Salt, BNY Mellon (Restaurant Associates), London
James Tully, Stoke Park Hotel & Golf Club, Buckinghamshire
David Wall, Le Talbooth, Milsom Hotels and Restaurants, Essex
Jing Wang, Midsummer House Restaurant, Cambridgeshire
David White, Barclays Wealth (ISS), London
Judges will be Michel Roux Jr, Angela Hartnett, James Martin and Gary Rhodes.
This year’s challenge is to create a recipe to serve four people using one saddle of venison ‘fallow buck’ weighing anywhere between 1.4 kg - 1.6 kg untrimmed, to be served plated and accompanied by two garnishes. One garnish must include Jerusalem artichoke and the other, a garnish of their choice, served with a sauce to accompany the dish.
Competitors will have 2½ hrs to cook their dish, along with a dessert from a mystery box of ingredients given to them on the day. The judges will be looking for those recipes and methods, which demonstrate the best balance of creativity, taste, style and practicality in the finished dish.
Six winners selected from across the two regional finals will go through to the national final, which takes place at Westminster Kingsway College, London on Monday 14th April. The 2014 Roux Scholar will be announced at an awards ceremony held at The Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, London the same evening.
Michel Roux Jr said: “The standard of recipes received has yet again been astounding, the creativity in method, style and presentation will make the regional finals as exciting as ever.”
Alain Roux added: “It was great to see so many imaginative and creative recipes using the saddle of ‘fallow buck’ venison. I was delighted to see some classic preparation and cooking methods used as well as some modern approaches. One recipe even includes a hint of chocolate in the sauce, which I’m looking forward to tasting!”
Now in its 31st year, the scholarship offers the winner a career changing opportunity: a three-month stage at a 3 Michelin starred restaurant anywhere in the world. In addition, the winner is then part of an elite club and on a fast track to the top of the profession.