Regional Finals

18 Regional Finalists Announced

The judges have announced the list of Regional Finalists for this year's Roux Scholarship competition, following the paper judging stage of the competition held on Wednesday 15th February.

Two Regional Heats will be held – Thursday 8th March 2012

The heats take place at University College Birmingham & University of West London, Ealing.

Competing in Birmingham:

Robert Hutchins	Rudding Park Hotel Harrogate
Oliver Farrar	The Arch, London
Jing Wang	The Plough, Coton, Cambridge
Edward Attwell	Love's Restaurant, Birmingham
Christopher Rawlinson	The Red Cat Restaurant, Chorley
Vladimir Hromek	University Centre - Riverside Restaurant, Cambridge

Judges will be Alain Roux, Brian Turner CBE

Competing in London:

Adam Smith	The Ritz, London
Pramod Ghadge	Catlin Underwriting Agencies Ltd, Harbour & Jones, London
Matthew Whitfield	The Montagu Arms Hotel, Beaulieu, Hampshire
Ilias Kariotoglou	Stoke Park, The Dining Room Restaurant
Arbinder Dugal	Le Pont De La Tour, London
Quinton Bennett	The Arch, London
Jonathan Boyd	Coco Restaurant, Belfast
Kyle Jenkins	The Square, London
Mark Charker	Ockenden Manor Hotel, Cuckfield, W Sussex
Adam Thomason	Wykeham Arms, Winchester
Andrew Smith	Thackery’s Restaurant, Tunbridge Wells
Nuno Goncalves	Galvin At Windows, London

Judges will be Michel Roux Jnr, Andrew Fairlie, David Nicholls & James Martin.

Facts about the Finalists

In a bumper year for entries the majority of competitors are new to the competition however many have passed through the kitchens of previous Roux Scholars, a fact which demonstrates the true spirit of the Roux legacy where everyone involved is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of young talent.

• Quinton Bennett & Pramod Ghadge, were in last years final.
• 13 contestants are entering the competition for the first time, 9 have no previous connections with the Scholarship.
• Jing Wang is the only female contestant through to the Regional Final stage of the competition.
• One establishment, The Arch, has got 2 contestants who have made it through:  Head Chef, Quinton Bennett & Sous Chef, Oliver Farrar, both worked previously for Andrew Jones, Roux Scholar 2004 at The Westbury.
• Matthew Whitfield works at The Montagu Arms for Head Chef Matthew Tomkinson, Roux Scholar in 2005 & was a Regional Finalist last year.
• Nuno Goncalves, works at Galvin at Windows for Head Chef Andre Garrett, Roux Scholar 2002.
• Kyle Jenkins, from The Square worked previously at The Ritz under Frederick Forster, Roux Scholar 2000 & at The Westbury under Andrew Jones.
• Edward Attwell, works for Steve Love, Roux Scholar 1997.
• Christopher Rawlinson owns his own restaurant, The Red Cat in Chorley and is entering for the first time.

The Challenge

This years challenge was to come up with a recipe to serve four people using 2 spring chicken of 400 grams each and 300 grams veal heart sweetbreads, accompanied by a sauce and two garnishes, one of which must be cauliflower and the other using a green vegetable of choice.

Contestants will have 2½ hrs to cook their dish as originally submitted along with a dessert from a list of mystery ingredients given to them on the day.  The judges will be looking for those recipes and methods, which demonstrate the best balance of creativity, taste, style and practicality in the finished dish.

National Final – Monday 2nd April 2012

Six winners across the two heats will go through to the Final, which takes place at Westminster Kingsway College, London.  The 2012 Roux Scholarship winner will be announced at the Awards Ceremony at The Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park London the same evening.