Chef from contract caterer Baxterstorey wins Roux Scholarship

Kenneth Culhane, from contract caterer Baxterstorey, has won the 27th Roux Scholarship after a final cook-off took place at Westminster College this week.

Six finalists were given the task of cooking fillet of beef en croute a la Bistontine, a classic dish from the Escoffier era. They had two hours to complete the task in front of judges from the Roux family – Michel, Albert, Alain and Mihcel Roux Jnr. They were joined by Gary Rhodes, Brian Turner, Andrew Fairlie, David Nicholls and guest judge James Martin.

Culhame commented on his win: "Without the help of my head chef Simon Attridge and my executive chef Matthew Hazewell I wouldn't have been here. They have been immense. To win this scholarship is like joining a dynasty, I can't believe it."

Michel Roux Snr said: "Kenneth's dish was really appealing – to our great delight it tasted as good as it looked. It was one of those days when everything just seemed to fall into place for him."

The other five finalists were Gemma Almons, The General Tarleton, Michael Birchall, L'Enclume, Stephen Stevens, Cleifiog Uchaf and Kevin Tew, Corrigan's.

Words: Maria Bracken

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