As the regional finalists for the Roux Scholarship 2024 are announced, chairmen Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr are delighted to reveal who will take part in the regional finals in the competition’s 40th anniversary year.
This year, 14 of the 18 finalists are new to the competition and they hail from establishments as far afield as Scotland and Cornwall.
The 18 chefs, and two reserves, were selected from their written recipes that had to use one short loin of free-range gilt pork, two fresh pork kidneys, crackling and sweet potatoes. They were submitted anonymously to the judges, who took part in the Recipe Judging day at The Waterside Inn on 21st February 2024. The 18 finalists will compete in two regional finals which will be held simultaneously on Thursday 7th March 2024 at University College Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing.
THE CHEFS COMPETING IN LONDON:
- Yash Dadlani Kanishka by Atul Kochhar, London
- Max Davies The Gordon Ramsay Group, London
- Oliver Dovey Claridge's Hotel, London
- Yiannis Mexis HIDE
- Ben Miller Alex Dilling at Hotel Cafe Royal, London
- Megan Montibert L’Enclume, Cumbria
- Karol Ploch Kerridge's Bar and Grill, London
- Jordan Randerson The Elephant, Devon
- Jacob Reilly Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, London
- Darryl Shotlander The Dysart Petersham, Surrey
- Caer Timberlake Restaurant 22, Cambridge
- Rebecca Tough Vacherin, London
THE CHEFS COMPETING IN BIRMINGHAM:
- Harrison Brockington Gather Restaurant, Devon
- Charlie d’Lima Crocadon Farm, Cornwall
- Steven Halligan Restaurant Metamorphica, Lancashire
- Adam Jones Horto Restaurant, North Yorkshire
- Evelina Stripeikyte The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, Scotland
- Liam Smith Restaurant Pine, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Judges: Alain Roux, Brian Turner CBE, André Garrett (2002 scholar), Rachel Humphrey, Clare Smyth MBE, Adam Smith MCA (2012 scholar)
Judges: Michel Roux Jr, Angela Hartnett OBE, Sat Bains (1999 scholar), Simon Hulstone (2003 scholar).
There are two chefs in reserve (should any finalists not be able to compete):
- James Plowright The Bugle, Hampshire
- Kian Puerto-Terron Bulrush Restaurant, Bristol
RECIPE CHALLENGE
This year’s challenge was to create a recipe using one short loin of free-range gilt pork from the shoulder end, weighing anywhere between 1.6kg and 1.8kg maximum, untrimmed with four bones in, plus two fresh pork kidneys, together plated with two simple or composed garnishes/accompaniments. One of them had to include sweet potatoes and the other could be a garnish/accompaniment of the contestant’s choice. One of these could be served separately, if preferred.
A sauce had to accompany the dish. For the regional final, competitors will have 2½ hrs to cook their dish, along with a dessert from a mystery box of ingredients given to them on the day. The judges will be looking for recipes and methods, which demonstrate the best balance of creativity, taste, style and practicality in the finished dish.
QUOTES FROM THE JUDGES
Chairman Michel Roux Jr: “The successful chefs sent in a really great set of recipes that all showcase some amazing skills and presentation in their dishes. It’s going to be another blockbuster of a year as we celebrate our 40th anniversary.”
Chairman Alain Roux: “It was great to see so many new candidates taking part in the competition. It shows how, despite the difficulties in today’s hospitality industry, so many young chefs are dedicated to improving their skills and gaining new experience by taking part in the Scholarship.”
Brian Turner CBE: “I suspect that many competitors didn’t have much experience matching sweet potato with pork and crackling, and it seemed that it threw a few people off, however the attempts were great. And it is great to see so many chefs representing restaurants from across the country.”
Angela Hartnett OBE: “We saw a lot of modern interpretations of things, lots of different spices, different herbs, processes in cooking in these recipes, which is great. You have to adhere to the classics because they underline everything, but it’s great to see they’d thought their recipes through so well.”
Emily Roux: “Judging the recipes was really interesting and it was difficult to whittle them down to choose the 18 finalists. We really have gone into a lot of detail in our discussions about what separates the recipes that have gone through to the regional finals, from those that haven’t. It’s also great to see chefs from across the competition’s age range – from age 22 to 29.”
KEY FACTS:
· The paper applications are judged blind, so judges don’t know the applicants’ identity, place of work, or any other details other than the recipe.
· Four finalists have competed in the finals before: Max Davies (2023), Oliver Dovey (2019, 2020/21, 2022, 2023), Yiannis Mexis (2022), Caer Timberlake (2020/2021).
· There are three female chefs competing in the regional finals, all of whom are new to the competition. They are: Evelina Stripeikyte, Rebecca Tough and Megan Montibert.
· The finalists come from establishments as far afield as Crieff and Cornwall and several have come from countries abroad to train and work in some of the UK’s best restaurants.
· As well as looking at how enticing the dish was and the best use of ingredients, the judges were looking at costings of the ingredients. They also looked at how much food wastage there would be in some recipes and, in some cases this lost the candidate points.
NATIONAL FINAL – Monday 8th April 2024
Six winners selected from across the two regional finals will go through to the national final, which takes place at Westminster Kingsway College, London. The judges for the final cook-off will be: Honorary President of Judges Thomas Keller, Alain Roux, Michel Roux Jr, Brian Turner CBE, André Garrett MCA, Sat Bains, Simon Hulstone, James Martin, Emily Roux and Clare Smyth MBE
