This year, 14 of the 18 chefs are new to the competition and hail from restaurants as far afield as Crieff in Scotland and the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall.
The chefs were selected from their written recipes that used Dover sole, brown shrimps and handmade pasta. The recipes were submitted anonymously to the judges, who took part in the recipe judging day at Roux at Skindles Brasserie, Taplow, on Monday 1 March.
“There were some cracking recipes in there and the shortlist shows that chefs from non-Michelin-starred establishments are just as likely to do well in this competition,” says Michel Roux Jr.
“The Roux Scholarship is for everyone.”
The finalists will compete in two regional finals, which will be held simultaneously on Thursday 24 March 2022 at University College Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing.
“The successful recipes showed that the chefs had practised enough times to really know their dishes,” adds Alain Roux.
“The recipes were well laid out the preparations were explained well and they showed a lot of confidence. I look forward to seeing the chefs in the kitchen.”
This year's full list of regional finalists is as follows:
- Luke Ahearne, Corrigan Collection, London
- Kieran Bradley, The Vineyard Hotel Stockcross, Newbury
- Michael Chwu, The Kitchin, Leith, Edinburgh
- Harry Donnelly, The RAF Club, London
- Oliver Dovey, BaxterStorey, London
- Luke Emmess, The Wykeham Arms, Winchester
- Jonathan Ferguson, The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, Crieff, Scotland
- Nico Fitzgerald, Nico Fitzgerald Restaurants, London
- Ruth Hansom, The Princess of Shoreditch, London
- Jake Hassall, Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh
- Ioannis Mexis, Hide, London
- Steven Newton, Coast Restaurant, Pembrokeshire
- Kamil Nowak, The Dysart Petersham, Surrey
- George Ormond, Murano, London
- Adam Pitfield, Driftwood Hotel, Porscatho, Cornwall
- Liam Pride, Trinity Restaurant, Cambridge
- Christos Sidiropoulos, Flemings Mayfair Hotel, London
- George Whitelock, Angler Restaurant, London
Reserve chefs (should any finalists be unable to compete)
- Fergus Wilford, The Savoy Grill, London
- George Fisher, Restaurant Twenty-Two, Cambridge
