ROUX SCHOLARSHIP WHY IT MATTERS

It’s the complete antidote to the endless sub culinary TV contests which mostly be-little the value of competitive cooking events, yet borrows something of the Ready Steady Cook fun in including an element of surprise ingredients for the chefs to create a dishes from. Now in its 24th year, the Roux scholarship is arguably the most prestigious competition and significantly, the most coveted among serious-minded ambitious young chefs.

The pressure is real and considerable with no double takes for the benefit of TV cameras. Dishes are invariably complex Escoffier classics. This year was no exception: the six finalists had to cook Tournedos Rachel with veal kidneys and a Roux Bordelaise sauce and a somewhat bizarre sounding macaroni cheese souffle (which inevitably sounded far more elegant in French) plus a dessert from a mystery box including pineapple, Assam tea, lime and Fruisana fruit sugar and cooked under the extreme scrutiny of the most illustrious imaginable team of judges.

Aside from the full Roux contingent Michel Roux senior and his son Alain now in charge of The Waterside Inn and Albert Roux and his son Michel junior now running Le Gavroche , fellow judges include Heston Blumenthal, Gary Rhodes, Brian Turner, Andrew Fairlee (the first Roux scholar) and David Nicholls who hosted the event at The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.

This year’s winner was 26 year-old Armand Sablon from the kitchen of past Roux scholarship winner Andre Garrett . I like the fact that not all finalists are from the well-known culinary A-list nor have been groomed in quite the same way as suspect Armand has been. Last year’s charming winner Pravin Sharma of Courthouse Hotel Kempinski whose spicing of a salmon and seabass coulibac made an overwhelming impression on the judges, despite the fact that he had not had a classical training and only arrived in the UK six months previously. Apart from the culinary kudos and the covetable cache of prizes from likes of Champagne Gosset, Global Knives , Caffee Musetti, and a week’s paid work experience in New York courtesy of Restaurant Associates what gives the championship inestimable value is the opportunity for the winning chef to cherry pick an expenses paid three months stage at one of the world’s top 3 Michelin chef kitchens. Easy to arrange as Michel Roux knows them all and is never refused. What’s more and is really endearing, all past winners become part of the Roux posse and really do get on-going advice, encouragement and all sorts of wonderful outings courtesy of Roux Brothers.
Significantly too the vast majority of past winners have gone on to become Michelin recipients with their own restaurants such as Steve Drake whose restaurant I found faultless when writing on restaurants around the M25 a few weeks back.

What made the evening extra enjoyable for the guests is the comedy act of the Roux dynasty who delight in publicly and affectionately teasing each other something rotten during the build-up to the announcement of the winner. And, of course, the decadent spread laid on by David Nicholls, executive chef at The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park who knows he has most of the country’s top chefs and restaurateurs to feed. Divine canapes which showcased the current most modish ingredients to graze on included: red pepper lollipops, foie gras parfait with pain epice and apple jelly, honey glazed pork belly, tartare of sea bass, lime, sesame and chive crust, tortellini of sole, horseradish cream and caviar, scallops with cauliflower pannacotta and curried beignets, bacon and balsamic, truffle risotto balls with parmesan cheese and truffle honey and coffee cup sized raspberry souffles and madeleine’s to finish.

www.rouxscholarship.co.uk