L’Enclume head chef Mark Birchall wins 2011 Roux Scholarship

In a final cook-off held at Westminster Kingsway College on Monday, Birchall’s interpretation of a classic dish of Veal Orloff, a boned and stuffed rack of veal, secured him the title in his fourth attempt in the competition.

The judging panel, which featured Michel Roux Snr, Michel Roux Jnr, David Mulcahy, Brian Turner, Gary Rhodes and James Martin, deemed Birchall to be the clear winner out of the six national finalists.

Michel Roux Snr said: “His dish was excellent, well seasoned and the cooking of each ingredient was bang on. After three previous times when his name wasn’t called he could have given up but his perseverance has paid off, he has honed his skills and shown great determination to succeed, this is what being a Roux Scholar is all about. Well done.”

Fourth time lucky​

Birchall, who has been head chef at L’Enclume for the past five years, said he hoped to complete his stage – the prize for winning the competition – at Joan Roca’s El Celler de Can Roca in Spain, or Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York.

"This was the toughest year of all my entries, without a doubt,” he added. “None of us knew the dish or what it should look like. I knew that seasoning was going to be important and I just let my experience and food sense guide me. It’s an amazing feeling.”

The other five finalists in the 2011 Roux Scholarship were Quinton Bennett from Haymarket Hotel, London, Richard Edwards from Lucknam Park Hotel, Wiltshire, Pramod Ghadge from Restaurant Associates, Neven Vanderzee from Galvin at Windows, London, and Nick Whatmough also from Restaurant Associates.

Last year's Roux Scholarship winner was Kenneth Culhane from Baxter Storey.