The two regional finals will take place simultaneously on 8 March at University College Birmingham and University of West London, where the chefs will have 2.5 hours to cook their paper application main dish and a dessert from a mystery box of ingredients given to them on the day.
Competing in London in front of chef judges: Michel Roux Jr, Sat Bains, Andrew Fairlie, Angela Hartnett, Rachel Humphrey and Clare Smyth, are:
- Greg Anderson - Morston Hall, Norfolk
- Sven-Hanson Britt - Miele GB, Oxfordshire
- Martin Carabott - 85 Piccadilly, London
- Ben Champkin - L’Enclume, Cumbria
- Michael Cruickshank - Bohemia, Jersey
- Richard Giles - Sorrel, Surrey
- Kamil Jedrzejewski - Hilton, York
- Daniel Line - Restaurant Associates (KPMG), London
- Oliver Marlow - Roganic, London
- Karl O’Dell - Petrus, London
- Drew Snaith - Mare Street Market, London
- Fergus Wilford - Cliveden House, Berkshire
Judging the Birmingham heat will be: Alain Roux, Brian Turner, James
Martin, André Garrett and Simon Hulstone.
Birmingham Finalists include:
- Aaron Lawrence, Gilpin Lodge, Cumbria
- Samuel Nash, L’Enclume, Cumbria
- Daniel Parker, House of Tides, Newcastle
- Ryan Porter, Northcote, Lancashire
- Kelvin Tan, Sat Bains, Nottingham
- Ricki Weston, Sat Bains, Nottingham
This year’s competition – which is open to working chefs in the UK under the age of 30 – challenged entrants to submit a paper application and a written recipe to serve four people using: two whole gilthead sea bream and one mollusc of their choice, two sides (one using globe artichokes and another of their choice) and a sauce.
For the regional final, competitors will have 2.5 hours to cook their dish as well as a dessert from a mystery box of ingredients given to them on the day. The judges will be looking for recipes and methods that “demonstrate the best balance of creativity, taste, style and practicality in the finished dish.”
Michel Roux Jr commented: “Some of the recipes were absolutely amazing but unfortunately some of the costings were really not up to scratch. Young chefs have to understand that the costings are very important and business acumen is something that chefs have to learn. No female entrants made it through to the cook-off stage, which is sad, but we will keep on pushing that and with our new judges Clare, Rachel and Angela we hope to inspire more female chefs to apply next year.”
Angela Hartnett added: “It’s a huge privilege to be back judging the Roux Scholarship. There was one entry from a female chef, and sadly she didn’t get through to the regional finals. It probably is a fair representation of the industry, given how many more men there are than women in the industry.”
The six winning chefs from across the two finals will go head-to-head at the national final on 26 March (Westminster Kingsway College, London), with the winner to be announced the same evening at The Langham, London.
Alain Roux concluded: “There was a lot of thought and imagination in the recipes and the chefs brought their personality into the dishes. When it comes to cooking the recipes at the regional finals, some will find the time frame a bit challenging, bearing mind that they’ll also have a dessert to create.”
It has also been announced that Michelin chef, Michel Guérard, will join this year’s Roux Scholarship final as honorary president of the judges, with Michel Roux commenting: “We are honoured and delighted to welcome our friend Michel Guérard as honorary president of the judges 2018.
"Like me, he is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) for pastry and his famous restaurant, Les Prés d’Eugénie in Landes, has held three Michelin stars for more than 40 years. Michel is a true artist in both cooking and pastry. He also holds the rare distinction of having been selected twice by scholars for their chosen stage, namely our first and now head scholar, Andrew Fairlie in 1984, and Matthew Tomkinson in 2005”.
Guérard said: “I am honoured to be involved with the Roux Scholarship this year. From the beginning I have taken a keen interest in the talented chefs who have won this prestigious accolade, and I was delighted to host the first scholar Andrew Fairlie for his stage in 1984, and also Matthew Tomkinson in 2005. I’m excited to see the competition in action and it will be a pleasure to join the Roux family to choose the 35th scholar.”