Meet the regional finalists 2026

The Roux Family are delighted to share the names of the 18 chefs who have reached the regional finals for The Roux Scholarship 2026. This year, 12 of the 18 finalists are new to the competition, with four of last year’s national finalists qualifying among them. The chefs come from establishments as far afield as Northern Ireland and Devon and are aged between 23 and 29.

The 18 chefs, and two reserves, were selected from their written recipes that had to use a Devon White chicken, its livers and two accompaniments, one of which had to include leeks. The recipes were submitted anonymously to the judges, who took part in the Recipe Judging day at The Waterside Inn on 11th February 2026. The 18 finalists will compete in two regional finals which will be held simultaneously on Thursday 5th March 2026 at University College Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing.

What did the judges think of the recipes?

Chairman Michel Roux Jr: “There was a very high level of cooking, which was reflected in how difficult it was to come to a decision on who to put through to the regional finals. The clever and full use of the whole of the chicken was what impressed us most: the carcass, the wings, the legs. That’s what we were looking for.”

Chairman Alain Roux: “It is great to see so many chefs have been supported to enter the competition by some of the best restaurants in the country at every level. It’s also great to see the past winners, our Roux Scholars, support their chefs. This is what it’s all about: passing on the skills, knowledge and talent to the next generation.”

Emily Roux: “There were some really delicious recipes to read, I think we’re going to be blown away at the regional finals. There are some amazing restaurants from throughout the UK represented and I think it’s going to be a tough regional and final. I’m excited for it.”

 Lisa Goodwin-Allen: “It was my first time judging the recipes and I thought some of them were really interesting, with some great detail. Some were more focussed on using the leek in different ways, and others used as much of the chicken as possible, and so there was less wastage. And it was all about showing their creativity and what can be done in the 2.5 hours.”

Mark Birchall: “I thought all the chefs who’ve got through, really deserve their places. There are some really interesting recipes and nice combinations and nice techniques with their proteins, it’s going to be delicious to taste them all.”

Main picture: (c) Jodi Hinds 

Katherine Altham is chef de partie at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, where she works under our previous Honorary President of Judges, Hélène Darroze. She began her chef career after gaining a first-class degree in Egyptology at Oxford University, but had always enjoyed baking and cooking at home. Katherine was a national finalist in 2025, which was her first time entering the competition. She has previously worked at Northcote in Lancashire.

Jamie is senior sous chef at the Michelin-starred Gravetye Manor, in West Sussex, where Roux Scholar 2018 Martin Carabott is executive chef. He has previously worked at other top restaurants in the south of England, such as The Ortolan and The Montagu Arms. Jamie comes from Southampton and is 29 years old.

Nathan, 25, is a sous chef at Baxter Storey Goldman Sachs in London. He has always enjoyed cooking thanks to his mum, with whom he shares a love of food. Nathan did his chef diploma at Westminster Kingsway College in London, and has taken part in other competitions and was the highest achiever at the Annual Awards of Excellence 2024, a finalist in the Young National Chef of the Year 2024 and Riso Gallo Young Risotto Chef of the Year 2024.

Taehyun, known as Max, is from South Korea and is chef de partie at Hide in London, a restaurant with a strong track record of supporting chefs to enter The Roux Scholarship, with both Luke Selby and Martin Carabott winning while working there. Max started his career in Hong Kong and worked at Roganic there before coming to the UK in 2022. He has since worked at The Clove Club and at Alex Dilling Hotel Cafe Royal before joining the brigade at Hide in February 2024, and was promoted to senior chef de partie in September 2025.

Angelos is Sous Chef at The Ritz, an establishment that has also supported many Roux Scholars on their journeys to success. Angelos came to the UK from his native Greece in 2017 and has worked at some of the UK’s best establishments including Morston Hall and Midsummer House. He is one of two Greek chefs in the regional finals this year, alongside Nikoletta Theofylaktidou.

Jasmin is chef de partie at The Dysart Petersham, and was encouraged to enter The Roux Scholarship by her Chef, 2010 winner Kenneth Culhane. Until last autumn, however, she was an apprentice at Coworth Park. At age 23, Jasmin is our youngest finalist this year, showing that it is worth chefs at earlier stages in their careers entering the competition.

Since 2023, Jordon has been head chef at Chalk Restaurant on the Wiston Estate in West Sussex, where he cooks with produce from the estate and local producers. His CV includes roles at other prestigious establishments including Moor Hall and Tom Kemble at The Pass. He also spent time working in events catering to a variety of occasions, from small ten-cover dinner parties to 400+ cover banquets.  

This is the second time Jacob has reached the regional finals, having last entered in 2024. He has held his role as senior chef de partie at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught since January 2023, and has previously worked at Murano under Angela Hartnett and at Bowley’s at the Plough, Kent.

Oliver was a national finalist in 2025, which was one way of not having to cook for the award ceremony dinner at Coworth Park, though he did help with some of the preparation! He works there as senior sous chef under Roux Scholar Adam Smith, his second stint at the restaurant. He first worked there from 2016 to 2018, before working in roles in France and The Netherlands and returning in April 2022.

By coincidence, James is another finalist from Coworth Park, having been inspired to enter after supporting our award ceremony and dinner in 2024 and 2025. Since starting there in 2023, he has climbed the ranks from demi chef de partie and is now junior sous chef. James hails from Sheffield and is among our youngest finalists, at age 23.

This is the second time Nikoletta has reached the finals, having progressed last year to the national final too. She works at Restaurant Associates in London as a fine dining sous chef. She started her chef career at Westminster Kingsway College in London, where the Roux Scholarship previously held its national final. She comes from Thessaloniki in Greece and tries to weave some of her Greek heritage into her menus at work.  

George arrived in the UK from his native Australia in November 2023, determined to build on his career which started at the award-winning Oakridge Winery in Victoria. Since arriving in London,  he has worked at Alex Dilling at the Hotel Café Royal and Rochelle Canteen. He is now senior chef de partie at Trinity Restaurant, which is known for its seasonal, ingredient-led modern European menu.

Liam Anderson is currently head chef at Midsummer House in Cambridge. He has previously worked at Chapter One, in the USA as a tournant at The French Laundry, and Moor Hall. Liam was also a national finalist in 2025, which was his first year in the finals. Watch his film here.

Harrison last qualified for the finals in 2024 and went through to compete in the national final for the 40th anniversary competition. He is head chef at Gather, in the Devon town of Totnes. He has worked at many of the best restaurants in Devon having trained at Exeter College at the Michael Caines Academy at Exeter College.

Rosie is junior sous chef at The Black Swan at Oldstead in North Yorkshire where she was keen to work, due to its dedication to sustainability and its livestock breeding programme. Previously to this role, she worked at Forestside in Cumbria, which also inspired her interest in farm to fork produce. She first became interested in cooking when working at her aunt’s pub aged 14. A Saturday job there later led to a career  hMy first job was in my aunties pub at the age of 14, I started off washing pots and fell in fine dining and a job at the Michelin-starred pub The Pipe and Glass and completely fell in love with the industry.

Andrew has been head chef at The Cardan Bar & Grill in Lisburn in Northern Ireland since 2021, where he builds on his career which took him to London in 2018 where he worked at Michelin-starred restaurants including Hide. Andrew competed in Masterchef: The Professionals in 2022 and reached the quarter finals.

Niall is senior sous chef at Forestside in Cumbria. He started his career, like many started washing pots at his local pub, which led to his training at Kendal College, where he learned to cook classic dishes. His career ladder has seen him work at the Black Swan Inn at Culgaith, Bistro 1863 at Pooley Bridge, and Temple Sowerby House.

William is senior sous chef at Northcote in Lancashire, where he enjoys the pace of a prestigious restaurant kitchen, as well as working with top quality local produce. His inspiration for pursuing a career in cooking comes from his mother and grandmothers who introduced him to cooking at a young age and, he says, he has never looked back.

William is junior sous chef at L’Enclume, and will compete should any other chefs be unable to.

Harry is chef de partie at Lainston House Hotel in Hampshire. He will compete should two chefs have to drop out.

Judging in London: Michel Roux, Brian Turner CBE, Emily Roux, André Garrett MCA, Angela Hartnett OBE, Mark Birchall, James Martin.

Judging in Birmingham: Alain Roux, Simon Hulstone, Rachel Humphrey, Sat Bains, Adam Smith MCA.

Key facts:

• The paper applications are judged blind, so judges do not know the applicants’ identity, place of work, or any other details other than the recipe.
• Six finalists have competed in the finals before: Katherine Altham (national finalist 2025), Liam Anderson (national finalist 2025), Harrison Brockingham (national finalist 2024), Jacob Reilly (regional finalist 2024), Oliver Robinson (national finalist 2025), Nikoletta Theofylaktidou (national finalist 2025).
• There are four female chefs competing in the regional finals, two of whom are new to the competition. They are: Katherine Altham, Rosie Bull, Jasmin Layzell and Nikoletta Theofylaktidou. This equals the 2023 number for female finalists, the highest ever.
• For more information on the White Paper titled ‘Women Chefs and The Roux Scholarship’ published in 2022, see https://www.rouxscholarship.co.uk/diversity-and-the-roux-scholarship/
• The finalists come from a wide range of establishments, including contract catering restaurants and three-star Michelin restaurants.
• The rules dictate that chefs must be resident in the UK, but their backgrounds are varied with finalists coming from Great Britain as well as countries such as South Korea, Greece and Australia.
• As well as looking at how enticing the dish is and the best use of ingredients, the judges were looking at the wastage of ingredients and how every part of the chicken was used.
• The judging panel 2026 is: Alain Roux, Michel Roux Jr, Brian Turner CBE, Emily Roux, Angela Hartnett OBE, Sat Bains (Roux Scholar 1999), Rachel Humphrey, James Martin, André Garrett MCA (Roux Scholar 2002), Simon Hulstone (Roux Scholar 2003) and Adam Smith MCA (Roux Scholar 2012), Mark Birchall (Roux Scholar 2011) and Lisa Goodwin-Allen.