25-02-2025
Former Suffolk chef semi-finalist in prestigious competition
A chef who worked at a Suffolk restaurant for nearly a decade is a semi-finalist in a prestigious competition.
18 chefs will compete for a place in the regional final of the Roux Scholarship at two simultaneous events in London and Birmingham on Thursday, March 6.
The scholarship was founded by Michel Roux OBE and his brother Albert to enable a new generation of chefs from Britain to train in some of the best restaurants in the world and gain international recognition.
Swann Auffray, who worked at The Great House in Lavenham for nearly 10 years, is one of the chefs taking part in the semi finals.
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Mr Auffray now works at The Little Chartroom in Edinburgh (Image: Supplied) He was chosen based on the meal for four people he created using two whole red gurnards, deep sea mussels, red dulse seaweed, and a garnish using parsnip.
At the regional finals, he will have two and a half hours to cook a meal and a dessert devised from a mystery box of ingredients given on the day.
Judges will be looking for recipes and methods that demonstrate the best balance of creativity, taste, style and practicality in the finished dishes.
The six winners of each regional final will go on to compete in the national final cook-on Monday, April 14.
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The dish gained him a place in the regional finals (Image: Supplied) The judging panel will include chef Michel Roux Jr who is known for his appearances on MasterChef and other cooking programmes.
Chairman Michel Roux Jr said: "It is great to see so many different establishments represented across the country and to see chefs who have been supported to enter the competition by past winners, our Roux Scholars, and past finalists.
"There were some very inspiring recipes using affordable ingredients and lots of skilful, innovative techniques as well."
Alain Roux, who is also chairman, added: "It has been good to see how the different chefs used the key ingredients to come up with a wide range of dishes with interesting flavours, drawing on influences from around the world."
