Country United Kingdom First awarded 1984 | Presented by Albert and Michel Roux Last awarded 2012 | |
Awarded for To find new talent in the catering industry. Reward(s) Three months at a three Michelin star restaurant | ||
The Roux Scholarship, formerly known as the Roux Diners Club Scholarship, is a cooking competition for up and coming chefs in the UK. Set up by the brothers Michel and Albert Roux, it was first run in 1984 with Andrew Fairlie being named the first winner. It has since been run on a yearly basis, with winners going on to spend time in Michelin starred restaurants including the French Laundry and Maison Pic.
History
Michel Roux credits Nick Rowe with originating the idea for the Roux Scholarship. Rowe was dining at Roux's Waterside Inn when he suggested to Roux that the Roux brothers could front a scholarship for up and coming chefs and that Rowe's credit card company would be willing to back it financially. Michel spoke to his brother Albert the following day, who said that Michel could lead on it. Michel thought it would be a good way for young chefs to gain experience in French restaurants, which were not open to employing British chefs at the time. The competition was formerly known as the Roux Diners Club Scholarship.
Each entrant must enter a paper application, which are then reviewed and broken down into regional competitions. Each regional winner goes through to the final, where there is one Scholar named. Entrants are limited to chefs who are working in full-time employment. Chefs are not limited to applying on one occasion; both Simon Hulstone and Mark Birchall competed on four occasions before winning. The winner of the competition is allowed to choose a three Michelin starred restaurant to cook in for three months.
The judges for the 2012 competition were Michel, Albert, Michel Jr., and Alain Roux, alongside Brian Turner, David Nicholls, Gary Rhodes, James Martin and Roux Scholar Andrew Fairlie. It was the first time the competition was televised, on the Good Food channel.