Two time Roux Scholarship finalist Sabrina Gidda is the head chef of new Italian restaurant Bernardi’s, opening this month.
We chat to Sabrina about what to expect from the restaurant, the Roux Scholarship and what she thinks of the amount of spotlight on women in the industry.
Sabrina ended up in the hospitality industry by accident while studying for her degree in Fashion PR and Marketing. She took a part time job at a café while at University and when the chef injured himself she stepped in to finish the service.
She said: “It was only then that I really discovered how much I loved working in professional kitchens. I’ve always adored food, there is a real joy in taking amazing ingredients and creating something delicious.”
At 21, after finishing her degree, Sabrina started as head chef of Draft House gastro pub in London. She then went on to work for Restaurant Associates, first as head chef at Sanctuary Spa in Covent Garden before moving on to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. While at Restaurant Associates Sabrina made the Roux Scholarship finals in both 2014 and 2015.
She said: “Being a Roux Scholarship finalist twice and being a part of such a prestigious competition has been wonderful. The competition is recognised as being tough, but the support behind entrants from The Roux Family, judges and sponsors is incredible.
“You can really feel them wishing you to be the best you can be. The competition has enabled me to meet so many talented people in the industry, people I perhaps never would have met otherwise. That’s very special and is exactly what the competition is about.”
Sabrina was the only woman in the Roux Scholarship this year, and hopes to see more woman applying for the competition in the future.
She explained: “To be the only woman in the competition this year is bittersweet. I look forward to supporting all of this year’s entrants in their Scholarship journey. Being a part of the competition is special, from start to finish.”
Despite being the only woman in the competition, Sabrina does not feel the industry is lacking in female role models. She said: “There are many phenomenally talented women in our industry, many of whom are now being
