Recently in Roux Scholarship Category

Time is running out to enter the 2012 Roux Scholarship, the prestigious cookery competition organised by the Roux family. 

Now in its 29th year, the Roux Scholarship is open to chefs working in full-time employment in the UK and aged between 22 and 30.

Entrants have until Friday, 3 February, to submit a recipe for four people using two 400g spring chicken, 300g of veal heart sweetbreads and featuring two garnishes, one of which must be cauliflower-based and the other using a green vegetable of their choice. The dish should also be accompanied by a sauce.

The regional finals will be held on Thursday, 8 March in both Birmingham and London. Judges include Michel and Albert Roux and their respective sons Alain and Michel Jnr, Brian Turner, Gary Rhodes, Andrew Fairlie, David Nicholls and James Martin from the BBC show, Saturday Kitchen.

The winner will receive a three-month stage at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, plus a number of unique prizes all related to food and hospitality.

Time is running out to enter the 2011 Roux Scholarship, the winner of which will receive a three-month stage at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant anywhere in the world. The deadline for entries has been extended to Friday, 4 February.

Entrants, who must work in the UK and be between 22 and 30, have to submit a monkfish recipe for four people, accompanied by a rice dish and a green vegetable.

The semi-finals are due to be held on 10 March in Birmingham and London, with the final taking place at London's Westminster Kingsway College on 18 April.

Joining Michel Roux on the judging panel will be his son Alain, brother Albert and nephew Michel Jnr, as well as the first Roux Scholar Andrew Fairlie and judges Brian Turner, Gary Rhodes, David Nicholls and James Martin.

Previous winners include Simon Hulstone, Sat Bains, Andre Garrett and Hrishikesh Desai, who went to Thomas Keller's French Laundry for his winning stage and was the first Roux Scholar to venture outside of Europe.

Last year's winner of the Roux Scholarship, Kenneth Culhane of BaxterStorey, will be travelling to New York City to Jean-Georges Vongerchten's flagship three-star restaurant Jean-Georges in March.

To enter visit the 2011 Roux Scholarship website.

Michel and Alain Roux last night played host to a stellar line up of more than 100 chefs and industry luminaries who joined the father and son at their restaurant, the Waterside Inn, to celebrate 25 years of three Michelin stars.

The Waterside Inn, which first opened in 1972, is the only establishment outside of France to have achieved 25 consecutive years of Michelin's top accolade.

Last night's event saw the UK and Ireland's Michelin-starred chefs gather at the iconic restaurant in Bray, Buckinghamshire, with guests including chefs Heston Blumenthal, Raymond Blanc, Gary Rhodes, Marcus Wareing and Pierre Koffmann.

Other chefs included Tom Aikens, Tom Kitchin, John Burton-Race, Angela Hartnett, Andrew Fairlie and Atul Kochhar, as well as Michelin director Jean-Luc Naret and the UK and Ireland Michelin guide's editor Derek Bulmer.

Guests were served a menu of 25 dishes taken from menus created at the Waterside Inn over the past 25 years. They included flan d'escargot en habit vert from the 1985 menu; turbot en croûte de volaille à la sauge from 1989; canard aux clous de girofle et au mile from 1995; fondant de pigeonneau et caille au citron vert from 2000; and entremets amandine à la pomme verte from 2010.

Kenneth Culhane a sous chef at contract caterer BaxterStorey has been named the 2010 Roux Scholar.

Culhane, who works at the group's contract at Level 31 Barclays in London, won the title following a fierce cook-off in the kitchens of Westminster Kingsway College yesterday (29 March).

Competitors were asked to cook filet of beef en croûte à la Bisontine with pommes duchesse and sauce béarnaise in two hours and fifteen minutes after they were given extra time to complete the dish.
 
Their culinary skills were judged by a panel of industry experts headed by scholarship founders Michel and Albert Roux and their respective sons, Alain and Michel Jnr. The panel also included David Nicholls, Gary Rhodes, Brian Turner and guest judge James Martin, as well as the competition's inaugural scholar Andrew Fairlie.

Culhane, who competed alongside his colleague Kevin Sutherland in the final, has won prizes including a week's paid work experience in New York, courtesy of Compass Group's Restaurant Associates, an expenses-paid trip to Champagne Gosset in Ay and a trip to visit the Caffe Musetti roasting factory in Milan.

Speaking after the award ceremony, Michel Roux said: "Kenneth was able to handle the pressure and he was very clear in his mind that he wanted to win the competition. He was beautifully organised and his method of work brought out the best dish of the day."

The five runners up were:

Gemma Almond, the General Tarleton, Ferrensby, N Yorks
Mark Birchall, L'Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria
Stephen Stevens, Cleifiog Uchaf, Anglesey
Kevin Sutherland, BaxterStorey, Barclays, London
Kevin Tew, Corrigan's, Mayfair, London

It's not often that you go to bed saying good night to the perfect day. But my day at the French Laundry was just that, perfect in every way.

As journalists we all have our icons - the one person who tops the list of people we want to interview. Thomas Keller has been on the top of my list for years and not only did I get to interview the legendary US chef at his flagship restaurant, I was invited into his kitchen and dining room alongside an equal culinary great, Michel Roux.

The reason for our visit to Napa Valley, California, was to catch up with Hrishikesh Desai, the 2009 Roux Scholar who chose to spend the three-month stage he won as part of his scholarship at the French Laundry. He is the first scholar, in the 27-year history of the competition, to work at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant outside Europe.

Desai chose to work with a chef whose culinary ethos is one of product and execution. It's all about a celebration of the highest quality produce and a drive towards perfection. His style is deeply influenced by the great chefs of France.

Keller epitomises respect - respect for the ingredients, respect for the people who prepare them. Each and every day he wants to be better than the day before. He inspires the people he works with by leading them in a way that makes them want to succeed, never disappoint. There is a sense of calm, a peacefulness in his kitchen that is unique. Every chef in his brigade forms part of a puzzle, there's no room for egos here.

Above the pass in the French Laundry kitchen is a sign featuring the definition of finesse: "Refinement and delicacy of performance, execution or artisanship." What goes beyond the pass is as close to perfection as you can get: a menu so refined it moves you on more than just a culinary level, it's an emotional experience to eat his food.  

Thomas Keller is a gentle giant. A true professional, a leader in his industry and a chef who practises the art of gastronomy at its very best.