As the regional finalists for the Roux Scholarship 2022 are announced, chairmen Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr
are delighted that a new generation of chefs has taken part and that the finalists have demonstrated a very
high level of talent in their applications.
This year, 14 of the 18 finalists are new to the competition and they
hail from restaurants as far afield as Crieff in Scotland and the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall.
These 18 chefs, and two reserves, were selected from their written recipes that used Dover Sole, brown
shrimps and handmade pasta. They were submitted anonymously to the judges, who took part in the Recipe
Judging day at Roux at Skindles Brasserie, Taplow, on Monday 1st March.
The 18 finalists will compete in two
regional finals which will be held simultaneously on Thursday 24th March 2022 at University College
Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing.
THE CHEFS COMPETING IN LONDON:
Luke Ahearne, Corrigan Collection, London
Harry Donnelly, The RAF Club, London
Oliver Dovey, Baxterstorey, London
Luke Emmess, The Wykeham Arms, Winchester
Nicholas Paul Fitzgerald, Nico Fitzgerald
Restaurants, London
Ruth Hansom, The Princess of Shoreditch, London
Yiannis Mexis, Hide, London
Kamil Novak, The Dysart Petersham, Surrey
George Ormond, Murano, London
Liam Pride, Trinity Restaurant, Cambridge
Christos Sidiropoulos, Flemings Mayfair Hotel,
London
George Whitelock, Angler Restaurant, London
Judges: Michel Roux Jr, Brian Turner CBE, Sat Bains (1999 scholar), Rachel Humphrey, Clare Smyth CBE.
THE CHEFS COMPETING IN BIRMINGHAM
Kieran Bradley, The Vineyard Hotel Stockcross,
Newbury
Michael Chwu, The Kitchin, Leith, Edinburgh
Jonathan Ferguson, The Glenturret Lalique
Restaurant, Crieff, Scotland
Jake Hassall, Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh
Steven Newton, Coast Restaurant, Pembrokeshire
Adam Pitfield, Driftwood Hotel, Porscatho, Cornwall
Judges: Alain Roux, Angela Hartnett OBE, Simon
Hulstone (2003 scholar), André Garrett (2002
scholar).
There are two chefs in reserve (should any finalists not be able to compete):
Fergus Wilford, The Savoy Grill, London
George Fisher, Restaurant Twenty-Two, Cambridge
The challenge
This year’s challenge was to create a recipe with two fresh Dover soles weighing anywhere between 600g-
700g (maximum 800g) cooked and served either whole, or in fillets and 300g whole brown shrimps with shells
on; together plated with two ‘simple’ or ‘composed’ garnishes/accompaniments.
One of them had to include
homemade pasta to be made on the day of the competition. The other had to be a garnish/accompaniment of
their choice. One of these could be served separately if preferred. A sauce had to accompany the dish.
For the regional final, competitors will have 2½ hrs to cook their dish, along with a dessert from a mystery box of ingredients given to them on the day.
The judges will be looking for recipes and methods, which
demonstrate the best balance of creativity, taste, style and practicality in the finished dish.
Michel Roux Jr said: “There were some cracking recipes in there and the shortlist shows that chefs from non-
Michelin-starred establishments are just as likely to do well in this competition. The Roux Scholarship is for
everyone.”
Alain Roux said: “The successful recipes showed that the chefs had practised enough times to really know their
dishes. The recipes were well laid out, the preparations were explained well and they showed a lot of
confidence. I look forward to seeing the chefs in the kitchen.”
Angela Hartnett OBE said: “Many of the recipes were very contemporary. Sometimes you see that chefs feel they
need to veer towards old school French, but that wasn’t the case. There were lots of different styles and it was
good to see different spices being used.”
Clare Smyth MBE said: “These were beautiful ingredients to work with, there was so much potential. Some chefs
didn’t realise that brown shrimps are a prime ingredient, and they could have made more of them.”
Facts about this year's competition:
The paper applications are judged blind, so judges don’t know the applicants’ identity, place of work,
or any other details other than the recipe.
Only four finalists have competed in the finals before: Jonathan Ferguson (2020-21), Christos
Sidiropoulos (2020/21), Oliver Dovey (2019, 2020/21) and Yiannis Mexis (2019).
First reserve Fergus
Wilford competed in 2019.
The finalists come from establishments as far afield as Crieff in Scotland, Pembrokeshire in Wales and
Portscatho in Cornwall.
The range of establishments is also well-represented, with chefs coming from three-star hotels,
Michelin-starred restaurants, contract catering, gastropubs and a private members’ club.
As well as looking at how enticing the dish was and the best use of ingredients, the judges were
looking at cooking timings of the dishes and whether the chefs had allowed time to prepare the
mystery box dessert in the regional finals.
The number of entries was lower than usual, with many registrants stating they were unable to
complete their applications due to time pressures resulting from staff shortages.
The Roux Scholarship team are analysing the results of the Equality and Diversity Monitoring forms
that were completed anonymously and voluntarily by applicants and examining ways to encourage
further diversity without compromising the blind judging stage.
