Harrison Brockington wins The Roux Scholarship 2026
Harrison Brockington has won The Roux Scholarship 2026. The 28-year-old chef from Devon beat five other finalists in a highly challenging final cook-off held at the Alain Roux Culinary School at The Waterside Inn on Monday 13th April 2026.
Harrison is head chef and owner of the small restaurant Gather in Totnes Devon, where he specialises in cooking with foraged ingredients and local produce. He opened the restaurant with friends in 2019, after working at restaurants in Devon including The Millbrook Inn alongside its former chef John Burton-Race, having trained at the Michael Caines Academy at Exeter College.
Shortly after the announcement at the award ceremony at Coworth Park, Harrison said: “I’m over the moon. I just can’t believe it. I only entered this competition to see how far I could get. I never thought I could do it!”
For this year’s final, the six chefs were asked to prepare their own dish, to serve four people, informed by the cuisine of Honorary President of Judges Mauro Colagreco, ‘Mediterranean-inspired ‘Surf’n’ Turf’’. They were asked to ensure their dish made use of the following ingredients: two whole Dover sole, two whole cuttlefish, 400g minced pork sausage meat, mushrooms, asparagus and at least one citrus fruit variety: they were offered a selection of Menton lemons, oranges, bergamots, finger limes and grapefruit picked from the garden at the chef’ three-star Michelin restaurant Mirazur on the Côte d’Azur. They also had a wide choice of other ingredients with which to prepare their recipe.
Chef Mauro Colagreco said: “There were six fantastic talents today, with plenty of passion and energy. The young chefs showed huge potential. There were very different skills on show and different interpretations. It was super-interesting to see the next generation of chefs with different skills from my generation. All of the dishes were really good, but there was a clear winner. It’s not easy to match meat and fish but some were more timid than others and that made the difference.”
Michel Roux Jr said: “The level was very high. You expect it in a final but this is tough and it’s down to fine margins. Every plate had something exceptional on it. They were given different cuts of pork to use and some didn’t use them enough. I think some were a little scared of using the pig’s head but they had a pressure cooker and could have used the ears to fry or cheeks or made a broth.”
Alain Roux said: “They coped well and the expectations of the chefs was high. The four previous finalists are real fighters. They were in a determined mode, determined to win. I was a little disappointed with the way some formed their vision and approach to the dish. I think they would benefit from a little time in the Mediterranean. It would help them understand we wanted them to reflect the sunshine in their cooking and flavours.”
In his role as Honorary Presidents of Judges, Chef Mauro Colagreco led the judging panel alongside joint chairmen Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr. They who were joined by Honorary Patron Brian Turner CBE, Emily Roux, Sat Bains (1999 scholar), André Garrett MCA (2002 Scholar), Simon Hulstone (2003 Scholar), James Martin, Mark Birchall (2011 scholar), Angela Hartnett OBE and Lisa Goodwin-Allen.
Harrison was competing against the following chefs:
- Liam Anderson, Midsummer House, Cambridge
- Jordon Powell, Chalk Restaurant, West Sussex
- Oliver Robinson, Coworth Park, Berkshire
- Nikoletta Theofylaktidou, Restaurant Associates, London
- George Wintle, Trinity, London
The winner was announced at an exclusive awards ceremony and dinner at Coworth Park, where Roux Scholar 2012 Adam Smith MCA is the Executive Chef. In attendance was a small audience comprising the finalists’ guests, sponsors and judges, with the ceremony live-streamed via The Roux Scholarship website and YouTube channel. Adam was joined in the kitchen by Martin Carabott, Roux Scholar 2018 and Executive Chef of Gravetye Manor, who cooked the main course, alongside Adam’s starter and dessert.
