Roux Scholarship 2023 regional finalists announced

The regional finalists of the Roux Scholarship 2023 have been announced by chairmen Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr.

Eighteen chefs have been selected to compete in the regional finals, which will take place on 9 March at University College Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing.

This year, 12 of the finalists are new to the competition and hail from hotels, pubs, private members’ clubs and contract catering venues in all four countries of the UK.

The 18 chefs, and two reserves, were selected after they submitted anonymous written recipes that used striploin of dry-aged beer, a beef offal ingredient and Belgian chicory.

Michel said: “[The] standard in general of this year’s entries was superb and it was great to read so many recipes that showed very imaginative ways of using offal.”

Alain added: “I'm pleased to see so many chefs choose to cook the ox heart as part of their recipes, I really like that ingredient. In general, there was a really high standard and I can’t wait to taste everything.”

**The chefs competing in London: **

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  Aaron Blais, the Ritz, London

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  Nicole Benham-Corlette, Boathouse 4 Restaurant, Portsmouth

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  Jack Cannell, the Tytherleigh Arms, Axminster

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  Ben Champkin, the Newt, Somerset

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  Harry Donnelly, the RAF Club, London

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  Oliver Dovey, Baxterstorey, London

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  Sam Lomas, Glebe House, Devon

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  Subhan Malik, the Beaumonth Hotel, London

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  Lucila Mattiauda, Seven Park Place by William Drabble, London

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  April Lily Partridge, the Ledbury, London

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  Ryan Porter, the Double Red Duke, Cotswolds

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  Yogesh Singh Yadav, the May Fair, London

Judges: Michel Roux Jr, Brian Turner CBE, André Garrett, Rachel Humphrey, Clare Smyth MBE, Angela Hartnett OBE

**The chefs competing in Birmingham: **

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  Christopher Clarke, Core by Clare Smyth, London

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  Max Davies, Aizle, Edinburgh

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  Ruth Hansom, Swinton Estate, North Yorkshire

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  Steven Newton Coast Restaurant, Saundersfoot, Wales

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  Alexander Rothnie, L'Enclume, Cumbria

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  Dillon Smyth, Baloo Inns Ltd, Newtownards, Northern Ireland

Judges: Alain Roux, James Martin, Sat Bains (1999 scholar), Simon Hulstone (2003 scholar)

**The two chefs in reserve (should any finalists not be able to compete): **

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  Kamil Nowak, the Dysart Petersham, Surrey

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  George Ormond, Murano, London

There was an increase in female applicants for this year’s competition, with four female chefs qualifying for the regional finals.

It comes after the Roux family hosted a roundtable discussion around encouraging a diverse range of applicants and published a white paper on the issue.

Alain told The Caterer he wanted it to be clear that “any style of chef” could enter and reach the top level.

Elements of the competition have been changed to make the Scholarship more accessible to all types of chefs across the UK. The overall winner will have a choice between a two-month stage at any three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the world or a bespoke training programme that can be taken at a convenient time in their work schedule.