A Quartet of Celebrity Chefs

Celebrity chefs James Martin and Brian Turner joined Alain Roux in College to judge the regional finals of the annual Roux Scholarship competition.

Also on the judging panel was former Roux Scholar, Steve Love, of Love’s restaurant in Birmingham.

For the competition, six ambitious professional chefs from restaurants across the UK battled it out in the kitchens in a bid to win a place in the London final. They cooked their own shellfish and rice recipe plus a dessert made up from mystery ingredients.

The judges looked for recipes and methods which demonstrate the best balance of creativity, taste, style and practicality.

"There were lots of interesting flavours, well married together today, everyone worked very hard". Said Brian Turner.

The finalists chosen will to go to London at the end of the month were Stephen Stevens, Cleifiog Uchaf, Anglesey and Mark Birchall from L'Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria.

They will join all the other regional finalists to try and win the title of Roux Scholar with fantastic prizes including work stages at a 3 star Michelin restaurant, £5,000, work experience in New York and mentorship from the Roux family for the rest of their working life.