Two Regional Heats will be held – Thursday 10th March 2011
The heats take place at Birmingham College of Food and Thames Valley University, Ealing.
Competing in Birmingham:
Mark Birchall, LEnclume, Cartmel, Cumbria
Richard Edwards, Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Wiltshire
Viresh Singh, The Connaught Hotel, London
Carl Chappell, The Montagu Arms Hotel, Beaulieu, Hampshire
Frederic Aumeunier, Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa, Skipton, N Yorks
Richard Cullen, The Spotgate Inn, Staffordshire
Judges will be Alain Roux, James Martin & Steve Love (Roux Scholar 1997)
Competing in London:
Andrew Wong, Bumbles Restaurant, London
Thomas Brockbank, Self employed working with Compass Group
Pramod Ghadge, Restaurant Associates, London
David White, Restaurant Associates, Barclays Wealth, London
Nick Whatmough, Restaurant Associates, Barclays Wealth, London
Matthew Whitfield, The Montagu Arms, Beaulieu, Hampshire
William Best, Wiltons Restaurant, London
Neven Vanderzee, Galvin At Windows, London
Matthew MacDonald, Vinoteca, London
Oliver Farrar, Haymarket Hotel, London
Quinton Bennett, Haymarket Hotel, London
Mark Berdin, UMU, London
Judges will be Michel Roux Jnr, Gary Rhodes, OBE, Brian Turner, CBE, David Nicholls & Andrew Fairlie
Facts about the Finalists
- 1, Mark Birchall, was in last years final
- 14 are entering the competition for the first time
- 3 establishments have 2 entrants each:
- The Montagu Arms, Beaulieu, Hampshire (Carl Chappell &Matthew Whitfield)
- Haymarket Hotel, London (Quinton Bennett & Oliver Farrar)
- Restaurant Associates, Barclays Wealth, London (Nick Whatmough &David White)
For more information: Carol Conway - 07590 414111 [email protected]
www.rouxscholarship.co.uk
4 competitors are from the contract catering arena working in various roles for Restaurant
Associates.
Carl Chappell and Matthew Whitfield both work at The Montagu Arms for Head Chef
Matthew Tomkinson, Roux Scholar in 2005.
-Neven Vanderzee works at Galvin at Windows for Head Chef Andre Garrett, Roux Scholar
2002
- Richard Edwards from Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa works with Hrishikesh Desai, Roux
Scholar 2009.
- Quinton Bennett from The Haymarket has previously worked with Andrew Jones, Roux
Scholar 2004.
- Nick Whatmough, David White, Restaurant Associates, Barclays Wealth, have worked with
Dan Cox, Roux Scholar 2008.
The Challenge
The challenge was to come up with a recipe to serve four people using 1 monkfish tail of between
1.2-1.4k weight, served either as a whole or in portions, accompanied by a rice dish and a green
vegetable of choice.
Contestants will have 2½ hrs to cook their dish as originally submitted along with a dessert from a
list of mystery 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.
National Final – Monday 18th April 2010
Six winners across the two heats will go through to the National Final, which takes place at
Westminster Kingsway College, London. The 2011 Roux Scholarship winner will be announced at
the Awards Ceremony at The Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park London the same evening.
Quotes from the Judges
Michel Roux Jnr
ʻWe had a very high standard of entries, with a lot of Asian influenced recipes this year. Monkfish
lends itself well to these flavours and Iʼm really looking forward to tasting the dishes.ʼ
James Martin
ʻA great cross section of chefs have entered from different backgrounds, I love to see the Bistro
chefs and the contract caterers as well as the Michelin restaurant entries. Iʼm really looking
forward to judging the dishes. There are lots of Indian inspired flavours and few classic French
recipes, perhaps a sign of the times as the British palate changes.ʼ
Alain Roux
This year the techniques in the recipes are different, lots of new cooking styles, such as using
vacuum pouches along side traditional methods. There are interesting combinations that are
exciting and not too powerful so the fish can stand out as well as some more classical recipes. ʻ
For more information: Carol Conway - 07590 414111 [email protected]
www.rouxscholarship.co.uk
Andrew Fairlie
ʻThis year there was a much wider use of herbs and spices and unusual combinations of
ingredients, some that we as judges have never seen. It shows that British chefs are becoming
more comfortable with using herbs and spices on their menus.
Monkfish is not an easy fish to cook, it has to be handled right and itʼs easy to muck it up! Iʼm
interested to taste these recipes; timing is everything with fish. Can they balance the flavours and
get the seasoning correct? In short, can they cook! That's why this is one of the most coveted
competitions in Europe todayʼ.
Brian Turner, CBE
ʻIʼm encouraged by the number of entries we got. Most of them went with Asian flavours this year,
Iʼm disappointed that there werenʼt more British recipes using this great British fish. The ones
weʼve chosen have shown sympathetic use of the fish, in their choice of cooking style and
ingredients and are all ones Iʼm looking forward to eating.ʼ
Michel Roux Snr, OBE
ʻIʼm delighted with a record number of entries received this year and the mix of backgrounds of the
chefs from all styles of establishments, from Bistro to Michelin Restaurants as well as contract
catering.ʼ
Our Supporters
The Roux Scholarship is kindly supported by a number of companies including: All-Clad, Caterer &
Hotelkeeper, Chef Magazine, Direct Seafoods, Electrolux, Fairfax Meadow, Global Knives, Gosset
Champagne, LʼUnico Caffe Musetti, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Restaurant Associates and
Savoy Educational Trust.
Now in itʼs 28th year, the scholarship offers the winner a career changing opportunity: a
three month stage at a 3 Michelin starred restaurant anywhere in the world. But thatʼs just
the beginning. The winner is then part of an elite club and on a fast track to the top of the
profession. The Roux Scholarship is the premier competition for young chefs in the UK
and ranks among the most prestigious in the world.
ENDS.
