Winners of fourth annual Andrew Fairlie Scholarship announced

Darren Seggie and Rachel Bremner have been named as the recipients of the fourth annual Andrew Fairlie Scholarship.

Seggie, 35, a lecturer of culinary arts at City of Glasgow College and Bremner, 34, commis pastry chef at the Balmoral, impressed expert industry judges to win the scholarship, which is awarded to a chef working in Scotland, carrying on the legacy of Fairlie’s commitment to nurturing culinary talent.

They had been challenged to create two dishes: the first with potato as its star ingredient, incorporating Scottish dairy and the second using hand-dived scallops.

The judging panel was headed up by Stephen McLaughlin, head chef at two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, who assessed the dishes alongside esteemed chefs Sat Bains, Lorna McNee and Gary Maclean.

The winners will be taken on a two day educational trip to France with Grande Cuisine, and gain hands-on experience at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles as well as three-Michelin-star Core by Clare Smyth in London.

The scholarships are offered in partnership with HIT Scotland.

McLaughlin said: “Our five finalists have competed fiercely and fairly today and they have all given it everything to win this year’s Andrew Fairlie Scholarship. Everyone competed with great character and commitment and showed a real respect for one another this afternoon.

“The chefs should all be extremely proud of themselves for getting to the final but must also take great pride in how they handled the pressures of the day and in the fabulous dishes that they all produced. This was a tough one to find just one winner today as everyone cooked so well and all had showed great application in getting this far.

“We had no choice but to award two deserving winners... this year’s winners not only submitted immaculate application packs but followed this through and showcased themselves clearly as the best on the day with clean, precise and creative cookery”.

David Cochrane, HIT Scotland chief executive, added: “It was a true delight to see our group of finalists demonstrate a passion for cooking that Andrew Fairlie would be proud of. A huge congratulations goes to Darren and Rachel, who have demonstrated exceptional skill, creativity, and dedication to their craft. They have bright culinary futures ahead!”

The 2023 finalists were:

• Daniel Robb, 27, Chef de Partie at Gleneagles

• Rachel Bremner, 34, Commis Pastry Chef at the Balmoral

• Darren Seggie, 35, Lecturer of Culinary Arts at City of Glasgow College

• Spud Henderson, 34, Sous Chef at Craig Millar @ 16 West End

• Rita Varga, 31, Chef de Partie and kitchen departmental trainer at Voco Grand Central Hotel