St. Ewe Free Range Eggs has embarked on an exciting 3-year sponsorship journey with arguably one of the most prestigious competitions for chefs in the world, The Roux Scholarship.

St. Ewe Eggs have come a long way since packing their first egg in 1982, just one year before the Roux Scholarship was established in 1983, and in that time both family-run businesses have earned a reputation for upholding strong family values and commanding excellence within their disciplines.

This year has seen St. Ewe rewarded for their 40 years of dedication to British farming, as they were showered with numerous awards including the coveted Farmers Weekly Poultry Farmer of The Year, and the Great British Food Award for their celebrated Rich Yolk eggs.

The Roux Scholarship has enabled a new generation of chefs from Britain to train in some of the greatest restaurants in the world. It has become the most acclaimed chef competition in the UK, with many alumni having gone on to win Michelin stars themselves, including 2 Michelin-starred Sat Bains.

The Roux Scholarship 2023

The Roux Family is delighted to reveal the details of The Roux Scholarship 2023, which has seen the most dramatic developments in the competition since its launch nearly 40 years ago. These include a new option for the star prize, a new-look final recipe challenge, and the publication of a White Paper about women chefs and The Roux Scholarship. Entries opened on Monday 7th November with chefs invited to create recipes using a delicious range of ingredients, including St. Ewe’s acclaimed Rich Yolk eggs.

New-look final

The Roux Scholarship National Final 2023 will test the six national finalists’ skills in a different way. Rather than preparing a classic French dish inspired by such chefs as Auguste Escoffier and Marie-Antoine Carême, the finalists will be asked to prepare a key ingredient in their own vision. This product will be chosen from the UK’s incredible range of produce and will be served with accompaniments drawn from a set list of other ingredients. The chefs will be expected to draw on their classic French cuisine skill set but judges will be looking for how they bring their own interpretation to the dish.

Recipe challenge 2023

The Roux Scholarship 2023 competition invites chefs to create a recipe for four people using ingredients such as a striploin of dry-aged Heritage beef cooked and served either whole or in multiple cuts, beef offal; together plated with two simple or composed accompaniments. One of them must include chicory (Belgian endive) and the other can be of the contestant’s choice. A sauce must also accompany the dish.

Chairman Michel Roux said: “I am thrilled to be launching the new-look Roux Scholarship with a new star prize option offering a flexible bespoke educational program. The final cook-off itself has also been tweaked to reflect today’s cooking styles whilst keeping classic technique at its heart.”

The Judges

The judging panel will remain the same for the 2023 competition and includes Alain Roux, Michel Roux Jr, Brian Turner CBE, Sat Bains, André Garrett, Simon Hulstone, James Martin, Clare Smyth MBE, Rachel Humphrey and Angela Hartnett MBE.

The Sponsors

The Roux Scholarship is sponsored by a number of companies, whose support is vital: Aubrey Allen Ltd, Bragard UK, Bridor (UK) Ltd, Elle & Vire Professionnel, Flying Fish Seafoods, Global Knives, Champagne Laurent-Perrier, L’Unico Caffe Musetti, Oritain, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Sources Alma, St Ewe Free Range Eggs Ltd, TRUEfoods Ltd, Udale Speciality Foods Ltd, Urbani Truffles UK Ltd and Wellocks.

Photo credit: Jodi Hinds