Regional Finalists Announced for 2024 Roux Scholarship
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. As main sponsors of the Roux Scholarship since its inception 40 years ago Global are immensely proud to continue our support the next generation of professional chef talent across the UK.
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.
Competing in the Birmingham Regional Final are…
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
Competing in the London Regional Final are…
Yash Dadlani Kanishka by Atul Kochhar, London
Max Davies The Gordon Ramsay Group, London
Oliver Dovey Claridge’s Hotel, London
Yiannis Mexis HIDE
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
Recipe Challenge
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.
Commenting on this years finalists Chairman Michel Roux Jr said: “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 expressed how: “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 added how he suspects 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 was pleased to see different ingredients being included in this years recipes, stating: “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 has been impressed by the standard of recipes: “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.”
Six winners will be selected from across the two regional finals to go through to the national final, which will take place at Westminster Kingsway College, London on Monday 8th April 2024. 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.
We extend our sincere wishes for success to all participants in the competition. With a remarkably skilled group of emerging chefs, we eagerly anticipate the forthcoming stages of the event!