For more information: Carol Conway - 07590 414111 [email protected]www.rouxscholarship.co.ukPRESS RELEASE - Roux Scholarship 2011Mark Birchall, of L'Enclume, wins Roux Scholarship!Mark Birchall, 29, Head Chef at Simon Rogan's Michelin-starred L'Enclume restaurant in Cumbriahas won the 2011 Roux Scholarship. Birchall, in his fourth and final year of entry, beat five otherfinalists in a close-run competition held on the 18th April at Westminster Kingsway College.
His version of the classic Veal Orloff, a boned and stuffed rack of veal, impressed the judges, whoincluded members of the Roux family. Later 250 industry guests gathered to watch him claim hisprize at a special evening ceremony at London's Mandarin Oriental Hotel.Michel Roux OBE: “Mark was a clear winner, his dish was excellent, well seasoned and thecooking of each ingredient was bang on. After three previous times when his name wasn't calledhe could have given up but his perseverance has paid off, he has honed his skills and shown greatdetermination to succeed, this is what being a Roux Scholar is all about. Well done!”Birchall becomes the 28th scholar following on from Kenneth Culhane who is currently on hiswinning stage at Jean Georges in New York. Mark has been head chef at L'Enclume for the lastfive years. He said afterwards:"This was the toughest year of all my entries, without a doubt. None of us knew the dish or what itshould look like. I knew that seasoning was going to be important and I just let my experience andfood sense guide me. It's an amazing feeling. "Asked where he thought he might like to spend his stage he said:"El Cellar de San Roca in Spain under Joan Roca or at Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York. Butobviously I'm going to discuss it with the Roux family and with Simon at L'Enclume."
The six finalists were given the task of cooking Roasted best end of veal Orloff style, kidney onskewers and stuffed vegetables, truffle jus from the Larousse Gastronomique, a 19th centurysymbol of classical French haute cuisine.The young chefs had two and a half hours to complete the task in front of judges. Joining the Rouxfamily this year were Brian Turner CBE, Gary Rhodes OBE, David Nicholls and James Martin.Guest judge was Steve Love, the Roux Scholar from 1997.
An exciting feature of the 2011 final was the .fly on the wall' film of the event produced by CactusTV, which will form the backbone of a newly commissioned 10 part series by UKTV for their GoodFood Channel. Called .The Roux Legacy' it will air early next year.A highlight of the film was the Roux cousins, Michel Roux Jnr and Alain Roux demonstrating a.master class', of how the final dish should be cooked. The film also followed the finalist's journeyand featured footage of last years Scholar, Kenneth Culhane on his stage at Jean Georges in NewYork.
The film shown at the final will be released on our website soon, followed by a complete film ofKenneth Culhane on his stage. Go to www.rouxscholarship.co.uk for all the updates from thefinal, where you will also find a full list of the fabulous prizes that Mark Birchall and our finalist'sreceived courtesy of our sponsors plus all the photgraphs from the Award Ceremony.For more information: Carol Conway - 07590 414111 [email protected]www.rouxscholarship.co.uk
