Le Cordon Bleu London names 14 scholarship finalists
Le Cordon Bleu London has named 14 finalists in its fifth UK Scholarship Award, which aims to help tackle the shortage of chefs in the industry.
Meeting with all 37 semi-finalists across the five regions of the UK, candidates were judged on their passion for pâtisserie by a panel made up of Le Cordon Bleu Master Chefs alongside the partnering chef in each location: Will Holland for Wales and the Midlands, Simon Hulstone for the South West, Anna Hansen for London and the South East, Mark Greenaway for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and Frances Atkins for the North.
The finalists are:
Francezka Bell
Emily Black
Hannah Cannell
Jessica Deakin
Lawri Dowie
Maria Elisavet Kostaki
Bethany Marsh
Keiron Murphy
Ka-Lai Poon
Olivia Potts
Tim Schilling
Annabelle Spence
Megan Roberts
Sophie Rogers
Worth over £35,000, the award will offer the winner a place on the Diplôme de Pâtisserie followed by a three-month Diploma in Culinary Management, and includes accommodation in central London courtesy of Urbanest and an internship at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea where Clare Smyth has been head chef for the past six years and became the first British female chef to hold and retain three Michelin stars.
The final stage of the competition will take places on 2 June 2016 at the culinary arts, wine and management school, Le Cordon Bleu London.
Loic Malfait, academic director at Le Cordon Bleu London and member of the scholarship judging panel, said: "It's been a pleasure partnering with the chefs from each region, all of whom have played a key role in helping us find passionate and hard working candidates.
