After two regional finals which took place yesterday, including a tough mystery box dessert challenge, containing candied chestnuts and strawberries, the Roux family has announced the six chefs who will compete for the title of Roux Scholar 2015.
Hoping to take the title this year is Scott Dineen, Goldman Sachs, (BaxterStorey), London; Gavin Edney, Cliveden House, Taplow, Berkshire; Sabrina Gidda, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, (Restaurant Associates), London; Daniel Lee, JP Morgan, (Aramark), London; Richard Pascoe, The Feversham Arms Hotel, Helmsley, North Yorkshire and Ian Scaramuzza, Hibiscus Restaurant, London.
Scott, Sabrina and Richard all reached the final for the first time last year. Sabrina said: “That was tough! I’m close to tears but it feels amazing to get through and I’m proud to be representing female chefs in the final of this prestigious competition.”
Richard said: “I am relieved to get through. I worked hard for last year's final, and I will work hard for this year's final. My preparation will be lots of reading from Larousse Gastronomique and practicing classical techniques. I really hope that the last two years' hard work pays off."
This year the challenge was to create a recipe to serve four people, using two whole guinea fowl (with or without giblets), weighing 1.2kg – 1.6 kg plus 200g chicken livers, trimmed; served together, plated and accompanied by a sauce and two garnishes. One garnish to include spinach leaves and the other a garnish of the chef’s choice. Contestants had 2½ hrs to cook their dish as originally submitted along with a dessert from a list of mystery ingredients given to them on the day.
Michel Roux Jr who was a judge in the London regional final, alongside
Andrew Fairlie and
David Nicholls, said: "The standard of cooking in London was fantastic and exceeded expectations, it was very difficult to split them. No one overcooked the bird, all were moist and almost everyone seasoned well.”
He added: “It’s the best food I’ve ever tasted in a regional-final! Everyone should be proud of their efforts.”
Judging the Birmingaham final was
Alain Roux,
Angela Hartnett, MBE and
Steve Love. Alain said: "The regional finals are daunting and they should be proud of what they accomplished. Unfortunately for a few chefs using a water bath, some meat was undercooked, and lost its shape. I don't mind if the breast is rolled, but if you square and trim the bird, you lose the essence of the guinea fowl.
"As a result of strong performances in London, Richard was the only finalist from Birmingham. His dish was beautifully prepared, and nicely presented, de-boned with the legs, and breast etc all worked in different ways. There were not too many ingredients on the plate. The ballotine of guinea fowl looked very pretty and the whole dish was well executed. The seasoning was very good and the sauce had good flavour."
Angela Hartnett added: “It's good to see repeat contestants coming through. There were some interesting concepts, but once again the chefs here in Birmingham struggled with the dessert. I have been a judge for three years now, and we really want to take someone through who is competent enough. It's not an easy competition. They should all be very proud of themselves - water baths should be banned!"
The six finalists will compete in the national final, which takes place at Westminster Kingsway College, London. This time the recipe details are a complete surprise; 30 minutes before the start of the competition the finalists will be given the recipe and ingredients for a main dish, either classic or modern and asked to prepare and present it to the judges.
The 2015 Roux Scholar will be announced the same evening at an award ceremony, held at The Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, London.
For more details visit
www.rouxscholarship.co.uk
