Hide chef Martin Carabott wins the 2018 Roux Scholarship
The 29-year-old, who was a national finalist in 2016 and 2017, beat five other chefs in a cook-off at Westminster Kingsway College yesterday (26 March).
The chefs had three hours to prepare and serve ‘Pigeonneaux Valenciennes-style, with a vin jaune sauce’ in front of judges including joint chairmen Alain and Michel Roux Jr, Brian Turner, Simon Hulstone, Angela Hartnett and Clare Smyth.
The winner was announced at a ceremony at The Langham, London last night.
“As with all the Scholarship final recipes, there is a core challenge at its heart, this time to debone a pigeon which is a small, fiddly bird,” says Alain.
“To perform this successfully took not only skill but also time and careful planning. This recipe was a real challenge, but the winner was outstanding.”
Last year’s scholar Luke Selby works alongside Carabott at Ollie Dabbous’ Hide, which opens in April.
Selby is head chef at the fine dining restaurant Above, while Carabott is senior sous chef at Ground.
His prize includes £6,000 and the chance to train at a three-Michelin-star restaurant anywhere in the world for up to three months.
The five other finalists were Ben Champkin from L’Enclume, Cumbria; Oliver Marlow from Roganic, London; Sam Nash from L’Enclume, Cumbria; Fergus Wilford from Cliveden House; and Ryan Porter from Northcote, Lancashire.
A film of this year’s Roux Scholarship will be broadcast as part of Saturday Kitchen on Saturday 31st March on BBC1.
The competition was founded in 1984 and is overseen by the Roux family, with previous winners including Sat Bains (1999), Andre Garrett (2002) and Hulstone (2003).
