Roux Scholarship 2023 regional finalists announced
The regional finalists of the Roux Scholarship 2023 have been announced by chairmen Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr.
Eighteen chefs have been selected to compete in the regional finals, which will take place on 9 March at University College Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing.
This year, 12 of the finalists are new to the competition and hail from hotels, pubs, private members' clubs and contract catering venues in all four countries of the UK.
The 18 chefs, and two reserves, were selected after they submitted anonymous written recipes that used striploin of dry-aged beer, a beef offal ingredient and Belgian chicory.
Michel said: "[The] 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 added: "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."
The chefs competing in London:
Aaron Blais, the Ritz, London
Nicole Benham-Corlette, Boathouse 4 Restaurant, Portsmouth
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 Beaumonth 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)
The two chefs in reserve (should any finalists not be able to compete):
Kamil Nowak, the Dysart Petersham, Surrey
George Ormond, Murano, London
There was an increase in female applicants for this year's competition, with four female chefs qualifying for the regional finals.
It comes after the Roux family hosted a roundtable discussion around encouraging a diverse range of applicants and published a white paper on the issue.
Alain told The Caterer he wanted it to be clear that "any style of chef" could enter and reach the top level.
Elements of the competition have been changed to make the Scholarship more accessible to all types of chefs across the UK. The overall winner will have a choice between a two-month stage at any three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the world or a bespoke training programme that can be taken at a convenient time in their work schedule.
