‘Changed my life’ – Former winners’ advice on entering Roux Scholarship

The 2025 Roux Scholarship was launched last week, with the deadline for applications coming up in January.

Some of the words used to describe the experience, by former winners, include “it changed my life”, “it’s an opportunity that can’t be missed” and “don’t be afraid”.

This year celebrated the 40th anniversary of the competition being launched, by Michel and Albert Roux.

Open to UK-resident chefs aged 22-29, the competition provides the winner with the chance to train in a three-star Michelin kitchen, up to £12,000 in prize money and, perhaps most importantly, the help and guidance of the Roux family for the rest of their career.

To enter, chefs have to create a recipe for four people, using a list of specific ingredients. This year, that includes Cornish red gurnards, mussels, dulse seaweed and parsnip.

Entrants have until midnight on Monday, January 20 to submit their recipes, via the online application system.

Regional finals will then take place on March 6, with six national finalists shortlisted.

This year’s winner was Karol Ploch, sous chef at Kerridge’s Bar and Grill.

The 28-year-old told The Staff Canteen: “My advice to anyone who wants to enter the Roux Scholarship is to give it a try, don’t be scared, have lots of practice and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You can always eliminate them during the practice, so always practice a lot, have spare time to do that and have support from a mentor.”

The Poland-born chef added: “To be the 40th Roux Scholar is just an amazing feeling. I am very privileged and happy, but it is also a big responsibility.

“You have to pass on the knowledge after and be the one who is going to teach the next generation of chefs. So I feel a bit scared about that, but I hope I am going to stand up to it.”

Among the star-studded judging panel for 2025 is Adam Smith MCA, who won the Roux Scholarship in 2012.

The award ceremony next year will be held at Coworth Park in Berkshire, where Adam is executive chef at Michelin-star restaurant Woven, which was recently awarded five AA rosettes.

“When I won the Roux Scholarship in 2012, I chose to do my stage at Le Meurice in Paris, under Yannick Alléno,” Adam explained.

"It was three Michelin stars at the time and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

“I would say to anybody, it (the Roux Scholarship) is an opportunity that can’t be missed.

“Focus on just good, proper cooking. I think the ingredients this year are fantastic. A little bit more need for thought there, not always the things that might pop into your head first - the gurnard, the dulse, the mussels and the parsnip. These are all great ingredients, but it gives a great opportunity to express your personality.

“Yes, the judges will want to see your personality on the plate, they’ll want to see something that sounds appetising and sounds fantastic, but ultimately, when you eat it and taste it, it needs to be delicious.

“The dish that will win will be the dish that tastes the best on the day. It is in any competition. The focus should be more about cooking those ingredients fantastically well and creating a plate of food that is delicious. If you want to eat it, I guarantee the judges are going to find it just as delicious as you do.”

 

 

 

 

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Andrew Fairlie was the first ever winner of the Roux Scholarship, in 1984, with other alumni including Simon Hulstone, Sat Bains and Mark Birchall.

Next year will mark the 20-year anniversary of Matthew Tomkinson becoming a Roux Scholar, when he won at the second attempt.

Matthew has held a Michelin star for much of his career and recently joined the Terrace in Yarmouth, on the Isle of Wight.

Reflecting on his success in the Roux Scholarship, Matthew told The Staff Canteen: “It changed my life.

“It’s really difficult, especially 20 years down the line, like when you’ve climbed a mountain, you look back on it and only remember the good bits, don’t you? But that’s the point for me.

“I entered the Scholarship twice and won the second time. The reason I entered the second time was because I genuinely enjoyed it so much. I know it’s easy for me to say that now, but that is the only reason.

“When I entered the first time, Martin Hadden was my executive chef, who is also a Roux Scholar. He suggested I should enter, so I did. I didn’t expect to get to the finals.

“I had no idea. I wasn’t a trained chef, I’d never been to college. Initially you used to have to be a trained chef. That year was the first time they said if you had someone who could vouch for you, that you’re not too much of a numpty, you could enter. Martin very kindly vouched I wasn’t too much of a numpty!

“I got to the final, as an untrained chef. I was working at a soon-to-be Michelin-starred restaurant, but I loved it. I’m quite competitive, but I’m not competitive against other people, it’s more myself and wanting to prove myself.

“When I entered the Scholarship, it’s obviously a competition and there’s a competitive nature, but it was just handled in a way that was not like that. It was almost like you were in a team.

“One of the main things for me, and obviously it continues now with Michel Jr and Alain, is that hands-on nature of the Roux family. I remember when I entered, Michel Roux Sr coming up to me to ask if I wanted a coffee and I said, ‘yes chef, I’d love an espresso’, and then he’s in the corner of the room making coffee for all the contestants. He doesn’t have to do that.

“In that building, how many people would fall over themselves to make a coffee for Michel Roux Sr?

“But that sort of typifies it. I left that first year thinking I was terrified doing this and I absolutely loved it and I’m going to enter again.

“So I entered again and I bloody won!”

Asked what advice he would give to those thinking of entering for 2025, Matthew added: “What I would say to people, it’s not this terrifying thing where someone is going to call you out because you don’t know how to chop something quicker than someone else. It’s none of that.

“It’s about food. The way that the test is constructed is about bringing out people’s ability to understand what delicious food is. It’s not about who can make the best tower of mangetout or something. It’s about flavour and deliciousness.

“The way it goes from the regionals through to the finals, you look at the calibre of the judging panel. They’re all people who have been and done it. They’ve got no axes to grind, they’re not coming to show you that they’re better than you. We know, they’re great chefs, they are the top of what we’ve got to offer in this country.

“It’s a warm, progressive thing. It’s like ‘that was great, but that potato’ or ‘it could’ve been 20 minutes longer and that would’ve been perfect’. That’s what typifies it for me.

“And then obviously the prize is phenomenal and the association for the rest of your career, you can’t get that anywhere else.”