2024
Karol Ploch
“Give it a try, but be prepared for a lot of hard work”
In April 2024, Karol Ploch won the title of Roux Scholar 2024 after the 40th anniversary competition took place at the Alain Roux Culinary School at The Waterside Inn. It was the first time the competition had been hosted there, after Chef Alain Roux converted the former home of his late father Michel Roux OBE into a state-of-the-art culinary school and library containing his extensive collection of books.
The 28-year-old Sous Chef from Kerridge’s Bar and Grill in London beat five other finalists to win the title, having cooked a dish that was centred around poached rainbow trout and Carlingford Oysters. The judging panel was led by Chef Thomas Keller, who during his briefing to the six finalists said: “We cook to nurture people, to make people happy. I want you to take that thought into your preparation today. You are cooking to nurture us and to make us happy.”
Karol was born and grew up in the town of Rzeszow, set in the mountainous region of south-east Poland. He first became interested in cooking after watching Hell’s Kitchen with Gordon Ramsay, and other TV programmes featuring Marco Pierre White. He found the kitchen environment intriguing and exciting, and wanted to be part of it, which led to him signing up for culinary school aged 15. Following his training, he landed a job as a commis chef at the Hilton Garden Inn in Rzeszow, finding the pace faster and enjoying the camaraderie of the brigade. After a couple of years there, he continued his career at Radosc Restaurant, also in Rzeszow, where he enjoyed cooking ingredients supplied by local producers. During this time, Karol took part in the ICA Culinary Olympics competition in 2016 in Erfurt, Germany as part of the Polish National Culinary Team. Here he learned the discipline of a keeping a tidy workspace, working in a small environment, and not wasting ingredients, an experience that would stand him in good stead when it came to The Roux Scholarship finals.
His next career move took him to the Polish capital, Warsaw, where a role as chef de partie at Concept 13 Restaurant allowed him to encounter and appreciate high quality ingredients from across Europe, including excellent quality fish and foie gras. Here, he also learned from his chef, the renowned Polish chef Dariusz Baranski. The experience piqued his interest in Michelin-style dining, and he set his sights on gaining a role in a starred restaurant abroad.
Arriving in London in autumn 2018, Karol gained a role at Restaurant Story as commis chef, leading to chef de partie, where he enjoyed a much more precise, refined style of cooking and learned much from Chef Tom Sellers and Chef Tom Phillips, whose style is much inspired by their experiences working for Chef Thomas Keller at Per Se in New York – a nice full circle moment for Karol winning the year Chef Keller was Honorary President of Judges. He also enjoyed making friends from around the world. Karol’s career continued at Kerridge’s Bar & Grill at the Corinthia London, where he has climbed the ranks from Chef de Partie to Sous Chef and enjoys different methods of cooking and using excellent ingredients. Having been interested in The Roux Scholarship for a few years, Karol finally entered in 2024 realising that he only had two years left to qualify in the age limit. So with the support of Chef Tom Kerridge and Chef Nick Beardshaw, he created his recipe and practised it six times before the regional finals, where he impressed the judges at the London regional final with his dish ‘Roasted pork loin with pork and pistachio farce, sweet potato dauphine, glazed pork kidney with crackling crumb, mushroom bon bon and peppercorn sauce’.
Photos: Jodi Hinds.
What did you cook in the final?
My dish was called ‘Poached rainbow trout with Carlingford oysters and champagne sauce, with glazed chateau potatoes, chanterelle ballotine and roasted asparagus’. I used the trout trimmings in the ballotine and I used the fish bones in the stock for the sauce. I had to leave the fish to the very last minute as it had to be served hot, and only needed six minutes as it was a very thin fillet – just before it was ready to serve. I was really surprised it was a fish dish because, it had been a fish dish in the final the year before, I was expecting poultry or maybe meat. We had 45 minutes to prepare the recipe and three hours to cook it.
What were the highlights of the final cook-off?
It was such a special day, starting with the breakfast and the briefing from Simon Hulstone in the dining room of The Waterside Inn. The view of the river was so impressive and it helped calm down the nerves. The kitchen of the Culinary School was beautiful and there is so much history there – it was very significant to be cooking in the former house of Michel Roux. To be a part of that legacy, at least for a moment, was amazing. Having the whole restaurant team there was special. The briefing from Chef Thomas Keller was very motivating, and his feedback was important, I liked the comments he gave me for the cuisson of the fish. I felt happy with how my dish turned out.
How did you find the application process?
Give it a try, but be prepared for a lot of hard work. I did six practices, so I think you really need to have the support of your workplace to give you the time to do this, and the ingredients. For the regional finals, you need to be prepared as you have to take your own equipment as well, especially if you need something unusual, like moulds or something like that. Make sure you have a half-hour gaps in your recipe as you need to leave time for the dessert, don’t use all the two and a half hours for your main course.
