Emma Keenan wins life-changing 130th Anniversary Scholarship at Le Cordon Bleu London.
Le Cordon Bleu London has announced Emma Keenan, from Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, as the winner of its prestigious 2025 scholarship competition, following a grand finale held on September 8th at the Bloomsbury Institute.
This year’s competition carried extra weight, celebrating Le Cordon Bleu’s 130th anniversary with the largest prize package in its history - a career-changing award valued at more than £90,000.
A winning performance
Sixteen aspiring chefs made it through to the final stage, where they were tasked with creating dishes under live competition conditions before presenting them to a panel of leading industry judges. On the panel were Emily Roux (Caractère), Chris Galvin (Galvin Restaurants), Nicolas Houchet (The Savoy), and Caoimhe O’Neill-McGuinness, who won the scholarship in 2024.
Aged 27, Emma stood out with her savoury choux ring with mushrooms, mascarpone and hazelnut and parmesan craquelin. Judges praised her determination, intuition, and passion for the craft, qualities that shone as much in her interview as they did in her cooking.
Later that evening, during a celebratory dinner at CORD by Le Cordon Bleu, she was officially crowned the 2025 winner.
A prize worth £90,000
Emma's award includes a full scholarship to the Grand Diplôme®, Le Cordon Bleu’s flagship qualification that combines intensive training in cuisine and pâtisserie. She will also benefit from a three-month internship at CORD, 12 months of accommodation in London, mentorship from Michel Roux Jr. and Chris Galvin, and an overnight stay at The Savoy.
Runners-up recognised for the first time
For the first time in the competition’s history, runners-up were also honoured. Melissa Kuo, from London, secured second
