They are Kieran Bradley from The Vineyard Hotel in Berkshire; Jonnie Ferguson from The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Perthshire; Ruth Hansom from The Princess of Shoreditch in London (pictured); Yiannis Mexis from Hide in London; Christos Sidiropoulos from Flemings Mayfair in London; and George Whitelock from Angler in London.
The Birmingham regional final was judged by Alain Roux, André Garrett (Roux Scholar 2002), Simon Hulstone (Roux Scholar 2003) while the London regional final was judged by Michel Roux Jr, Brian Turner CBE, Rachel Humphrey, Sat Bains (Roux Scholar 1999) and Clare Smyth.
“When judging today, we are hoping to see that they have really followed their recipe and if the recipe works. I am looking for a chef that can show their skills, one who has got not only a good palate, but has vision as a chef, meaning, they are a team player, is organised, and can cope with pressure. They must know their basics, the classics, and has their own flair and show their personal skills,” says Alain Roux, who led the judging the regional final at University College Birmingham.
“It’s always a pleasure to see what the next generation of chefs can cook up for us. We had a great day tasting perfectly cooked sole and imaginative pasta as the garnishes,” says Michel Roux Jr, who led the judging the London regional final at the University of West London.
The challenge was to cook the recipe each chef submitted with their application which was blind-judged on 1 March by the judging panel.
At the regional finals the 18 regional finalists cooked their recipes that included: two fresh Dover soles weighing anywhere between 600g-700g (maximum 800g) cooked and served either whole, or in fillets and 300g whole brown shrimps with shells on; together plated with two ‘simple’ or ‘composed’ garnishes/accompaniments.
One of them had to include homemade pasta made on the day of the competition. The other had to be a garnish/accompaniment of their choice.
The competition also saw contestants make a dessert from a mystery box of ingredients.
The six finalists will compete for the title of Roux Scholar 2022 in the final, which takes place at Westminster Kingsway College on 11 April.
This time the recipe details will be a complete surprise; 30 minutes before the start of the competition the finalists will be given the recipe and ingredients for a main dish, either classic or modern and given up to three hours to prepare and present it to the judges.
French three-star Michelin chef Hélène Darroze will lead the panel of judges as honorary president, alongside joint chairmen Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr. They will be joined by vice-chairman Brian Turner, James Martin, Clare Smyth CBE, André Garrett, Sat Bains and Simon Hulstone.