February 24 2023
As the regional finalists for the Roux Scholarship 2023 are announced, chairmen Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr are delighted that a diverse group of talented young chefs have qualified for the next round of the competition. This year, 12 of the 18 finalists are new to the competition and they hail from hotels, pubs, private member’s clubs and contract catering establishments in all four countries of the United Kingdom.
Following a push for more diversity at the launch of this year’s competition, with the Round Table discussion and publication of the White Paper, Women Chefs and The Roux Scholarship, the Roux Family were delighted to see an increase in applications from female chefs with four qualifying for the regional finals.
The 18 chefs, and two reserves, were selected from their written recipes that used striploin of dry-aged beef, a beef offal ingredient and Belgian chicory. They were submitted anonymously to the judges, who took part in the Recipe Judging day at Roux at The Waterside Inn on 22nd February 2023. The 18 finalists will compete in two regional finals which will be held simultaneously on Thursday 9th March 2023 at University College Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing.
THE CHEFS COMPETING IN LONDON:
Nicole Benham-Corlette, Boathouse 4 Restaurant, Portsmouth
Aaron Blais, The Ritz, London
Jack Cannell, The Tytherleigh Arms, Axminster
Ben Champkin, The Newt, Somerset
Harry Donnelly, The RAF Club, London
Oliver Dovey, Baxterstorey, London
Sam Lomas, Glebe House, Devon
Subhan Malik, The Beaumont Hotel, London
Lucila Mattiauda, Seven Park Place by William Drabble, London
April Lily Partridge, The Ledbury, London
Ryan Porter, The Double Red Duke, Cotswolds
Yogesh Singh Yadav, The May Fair, London
Judges: Michel Roux Jr, Brian Turner CBE, André Garrett, Rachel Humphrey, Clare Smyth MBE, Angela Hartnett OBE.
THE CHEFS COMPETING IN BIRMINGHAM:
Christopher Clarke, Core by Clare Smyth, London
Max Davies, Aizle, Edinburgh
Ruth Hansom, Swinton Estate, North Yorkshire
Steven Newton, Coast Restaurant, Saundersfoot, Wales
Alexander Rothnie, L’Enclume, Cumbria
Dillon Smyth, Baloo Inns Ltd, Newtownards, Northern Ireland
Judges: Alain Roux, James Martin, Sat Bains (1999 scholar), Simon Hulstone (2003 scholar).
QUOTES FROM THE JUDGES
Michel Roux Jr: “Michel: Standard in general of this year’s entries was superb and it was great to read so many recipes that showed very imaginative ways of using offal.”
Alain Roux: “It’s great to see that our regional finalists come from all over the UK and a variety of different establishments. Regarding the recipes, I’m pleased to see so many chefs choose to cook the ox heart as part of their recipes, I really like that ingredient. In general, there was a really high standard and I can’t wait to taste everything.”
Simon Hulstone: “It’s great to see some great female competitors in the list, some are ones that I’ve seen come through Future Chef competitions and so to see them now, getting into a competition at this stature, is fantastic. But also, it’s great to see some previous finalists that have come back from over the years to have another go and to see some new names and new establishments getting involved.”
James Martin: “Speaking with the other judges, it was clear that there were certain recipes that really did stand out for all of us. And that’s great because we don’t know the name, we don’t know where they work. All we get given is a number, and it’s exciting to find out at the end, once they’re all chosen, who they all are.”