Roux Scholarship 2018 regional finalists revealed

The 18 regional finalists who will compete to become the 2018 Roux Scholar have been announced.

The Roux Scholarship 2018 finalists include chefs from L'Enclume, Cumbria; House of Tides, Newcastle; Sat Bains, Nottingham; Petrus, London; Cliveden House, Berkshire; and Northcote, Lancashire. This year 13 of the 18 finalists are from restaurants outside London, with employers varying from Miele's test kitchen, a mid-range hotel restaurant and a number of Michelin-starred restaurants.

The finalists will now go forward to compete in two regional finals, which will be held simultaneously on 8 March at University College Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing.

Joint chairmen of judges, Alain and Michel Roux Jr will be joined by Brian Turner, James Martin, André Garrett (2002 scholar), Simon Hulstone (2003 scholar), Sat Bains (1999 scholar) Andrew Fairlie (Head Scholar, 1984), Angela Hartnett, Rachel Humphrey and Clare Smyth.

Michel Roux Jr said: “Some of the recipes were absolutely amazing but unfortunately some of the costings were really not up to scratch. Young chefs have to understand that the costings are very important and business acumen is something that chefs have to learn. No female entrants made it through to the cook-off stage, which is sad, but we will keep on pushing that and with our new judges Clare, Rachel and Angela we hope to inspire more female chefs to apply next year.”

The national final will take place on 26 March at Westminster Kingsway College, London. The 35th Roux Scholar will be announced at an award ceremony at the Langham, London, the same evening.

The full list of finalists:

• Aaron Lawrence, Gilpin Lodge, Cumbria
• Samuel Nash, L’Enclume, Cumbria
• Daniel Parker, House of Tides, Newcastle
• Ryan Porter, Northcote, Lancashire
• Kelvin Tan, Sat Bains, Nottingham
• Ricki Weston, Sat Bains, Nottingham
• Greg Anderson, Morston Hall, Norfolk
• Sven-Hanson Britt, Miele GB, Oxfordshire
• Martin Carabott, 85 Piccadilly, London
• Ben Champkin, L’Enclume, Cumbria
• Michael Cruickshank, Bohemia, Jersey
• Richard Giles, Sorrel, Surrey
• Kamil Jedrzejewski, Hilton, York
• Daniel Lines, Restaurant Associates (KPMG), London
• Oliver Marlow, Roganic, London
• Karl O’Dell, Petrus, London
• Drew Snaith, Mare Street Market, London
• Fergus Wilford, Cliveden House, Berkshire

Star of the stage: Roux Scholar 2017 Luke Selby shares what he learned during his stage at Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo >>

Chef profile: Luke Selby, National Chef of the Year >>

Roux family launches Roux Scholarship 2018 >>

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