Honorary President of Judges

Every year since 2016, we have invited one of the world’s best chefs to lead the judging panel of the national final. We have been privileged to have the wisdom from their years of experience and the insight brought from their respective countries.

(c) Deborah Jones

2024

Thomas Keller

The Roux Family is delighted that Chef Thomas Keller will lead the judging panel as Honorary President of Judges for the National Final 2024. Chef Keller, one of America’s most inventive and celebrated chefs, is renowned for his refined yet simple classic French cuisine and commitment to excellence that has inspired chefs throughout the world.  He is the first and only American-born chef to hold multiple three-star ratings from the prestigious Michelin Guide, at his landmark restaurants The French Laundry and Per Se. Among his many accolades, Chef Keller was the first American male chef to be awarded a Chevalier of The French Legion of Honour; he has won The Culinary Institute of America’s Chef of the Year Award, the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef and Outstanding Restaurateur Awards. Chef Keller led a team from the U.S. to its first-ever gold medal in the Bocuse d’Or. He is the author of six cookbooks, including the recently released, The French Laundry, Per Se. There are more than 1.5 million copies of his cookbooks in print.

“I’m grateful to be honoured in this way. The Roux Scholarship has impacted generations of chefs including Hrishikesh Desai, Jonathan Ferguson, Ian Scaramuzza, among many others. I’m looking forward to this year’s competition and the scholarship winner,” said Chef Keller.

2023

Michel & César Troisgros

We are delighted to be welcoming two incredible chefs to the role of Honorary President of Judges for 2023. The Troisgros family is one of the most renowned culinary dynasties in the world, having held three Michelin stars at their restaurant, La Maison Troisgros, longer than any other restaurant in France. The Troisgros restaurant is set in the stunning Roannais area of France, west of Lyon and is now in the village of Ouches, having relocated in 2017 from its original site (now their bistro Le Central) in Roanne. La Maison Troisgros was first established there in 1930 by Jean-Baptiste and Marie Troisgros, whose sons Pierre and Jean Troisgros continued and built on its success and were awarded three Michelin stars in 1968. Now, Pierre’s son Michel, alongside his sons César and Léo, continue the restaurant’s success with the support of the wider family.

Michel Troisgros said: “Albert and Michel Roux were born in Saône-et-Loire, a stone’s throw from Roanne where Jean and Pierre – known as the Troisgros Brothers – were based. All four were from the same generation, who grew up in the post-war period and became iconic chefs in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s. They had many things in common: their countries of origin, sharing the work between brothers, the wave of new cuisine, and the heirs who would continue their work. Between our two families there has always been a bond of friendship and today we extend the friendship we inherited from our fathers.

The winner of The Roux Scholarship 2023 was April Lily Partridge. 

Michel et César Troisgros
220411_RouxFinals_HeleneDarroze_004

2022

Hélène Darroze

Hélène is the fourth generation of chefs in her family. After initially working on the operational side of hospitality with Alain Ducasse at his three Michelin-starred Le Louis XV in Monaco, Ducasse recognised her potential and encouraged her  into the kitchen. In 1995, she returned to her home region of Les Landes to work in the family-run, Relais & Châteaux affiliated restaurant in Villeneuve-de-Marsan. After four years, Hélène opened her own establishment, Restaurant Hélène Darroze, which was awarded its first Michelin star in 2001, followed by a second star in 2011. Building on the success of Paris, she opened her first restaurant outside France at the historic hotel, The Connaught in London’s prestigious Mayfair, in 2010. Just six months later, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star, with the second following in 2011. It was awarded three stars in the 2021 Michelin Guide.  In September 2018, she opened a new venture titled Jòia by Hélène Darroze in Le Sentier (2nd Arrondissement) in Paris. The following year, in July 2019, she relaunched her flagship restaurant in Paris as ‘Marsan by Hélène Darroze’ which is named after the capital town in her home region of Les Landes and holds two Michelin stars. In July 2021, she opened Hélène Darroze at Villa La Coste, in Provence.

The winner in 2022 was Jonathan Ferguson.

2020/2021

Bjorn Frantzén

Chef Frantzén’s eponymous restaurant has held three Michelin stars since 2018 and hosted 2019 Roux Scholarship winner Spencer Metzger for his three-month stage. Frantzén is widely regarded to be one of the best restaurants in Europe, and was the the first Swedish restaurant to be awarded three stars by the Michelin Guide. The restaurant started as a small dining room, but in 2016 it transferred to larger premises; a three-storey 19th-century townhouse in the Norrmalm district.

Chef Frantzén said: “It’s a great honour to be asked to join as Honorary President for 2020. Having spent more than six years in the UK during my early career, the Roux Family has also been important for my own cooking. I still remember going past the legendary Le Gavroche every morning to work and dreaming of one day running my own Michelin establishment. So, it’s with great pleasure I’m joining the legendary Roux Family for such an important cause as inspiring and making sure our industry is taking care of young talents; without them, our loved industry is nothing.”

The winner of the Roux Scholarship 2020/2021 was Oli Williamson.

2019

Peter Gilmore

The Roux Scholarship proved its global influence in 2019 with the appointment of one of Australia’s leading chefs, Peter Gilmore. Chef Gilmore is Executive Chef of The Quay restaurant in Sydney, which was included in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants five times, as well as Bennelongat The Sydney Opera House. With more than 30 years’ experience, both in Sydney and around the world, Chef Gilmore’s inspirational approach to cooking has won him many accolades. He was one of the first chefs in Australia to embrace heirloom varieties of vegetables and continues to work in partnership with artisan producers who cultivate produce exclusively for his restaurants.

Chef Gilmore said in 2019: “The Roux brothers were already legends in the industry when I started my apprenticeship in the mid-80s. It is such an honour to be asked to be Honorary President of Judges for this year’s Roux Scholarship. It cannot be underestimated the influence the Roux Family have had on the culinary world. The Roux Scholarship is such an important initiative for promoting and uncovering young talent within the hospitality industry. For a young chef to be able to call themselves a Roux Scholar means a great deal, not just in the UK but internationally.”

The 2019 winner was Spencer Metzger. 

2018

Michel Guérard

Michel Guérard ranks among the most influential chefs in the world. In the early 1970s, Michel Guérard, alongside chefs Paul Bocuse, Roger Vergé, Troisgros brothers and Alain Chapel, championed the movement of French Cuisine and today are considered to be the founding fathers of Nouvelle Cuisine. In the early 1970s, Chef Guérard moved from Paris to Les Prés d’Eugénie, in the spa village of Eugénie-les-Bains, in southwest France, where he developed a healthy yet delicious diet (called Grande Cuisine Minceur® – great slimming cuisine) to complement the spa, run by his late wife Christine Barthélémy and her family. Guérard won his first Michelin star for Les Pres d’Eugenie in 1974 and his second just a year later, with a third coming in 1977. He has held three Michelin stars continuously ever since.

A number of acclaimed chefs have trained in his kitchen including Alain Ducasse, Michel Troisgros, Gérald Passédat, Sébastien Bras and Daniel Boulud. Roux Scholars Andrew Fairlie and Matthew Tomkinson both did their three-month stages at Les Pres d’Eugenie.

He said on being invited to be Honorary President of Judges: “I am honoured to be involved with the Roux Scholarship this year. From the beginning I have taken a keen interest in the talented chefs who have won this prestigious accolade, and I was delighted to host the first scholar Andrew Fairlie for his stage in 1984, and also Matthew Tomkinson in 2005. I’m excited to see the competition in action and it will be a pleasure to join the Roux family to choose the 35th scholar.”

The 2018 winner was Martin Carabott.

2017

Anne-Sophie Pic

Anne-Sophie Pic’s story is both remarkable and inspiring. In 2007, she became the fourth female chef to achieve three Michelin stars and the only woman to hold three stars at a restaurant in France, Anne-Sophie Pic, in Valence. In 2011, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants named her World’s Best Female Chef. A total of seven Michelin stars to her name; she holds two stars for Anne-Sophie Pic, in Lausanne, Switzerland and a sixth for La Dame de Pic in Paris and most recently, her seventh star at her first restaurant in London, La Dame de Pic at the Four Seasons Hotel, Ten Trinity Square. She said on joining the judging panel in 2017:

“I feel very honoured, to be involved with the 2017 Roux Scholarship, it is an interesting competition, emphasising both tradition and innovation. I believe that these two values are the two sides of the same coin. Within the tradition there is the idea of know-how and transmission, which are key to make the cuisine of a country lasting.  I think one needs to know where he comes from to know where he wants to go. The question of roots is important to build our own path in life.”

The winner of that year’s competition was Luke Selby.

2016

Pierre Gagnaire

Legendary chef Pierre Gagnaire has sixteen restaurants around the world, from Paris to Tokyo, and has been a global leader on the culinary stage for decades. His London restaurant The Lecture Room at Sketch was awarded its third Michelin star in the 2020 guide, while his other restaurants also hold countless awards and accolades. Chef Gagnaire’s motto is “Looking to tomorrow, but respecting yesterday,” which could easily sum up the Roux Scholarship too!

In 2016, he was invited to be the competition’s first ever Honorary President of Judges and shared in naming that year’s winner, Harry Guy. Chef Gagnaire also hosted Roux Scholarship winners Frederick Forster  and Paul O’Neill for their stages. He said at the time:

“It is a great honour to be a part of this event. I have huge respect for the Roux brothers who were the pioneers of French cuisine in Great Britain. This is a unique event promoting our culinary culture and allowing the next generation of chefs to come out of the shadows for good.”