The Institute of Hospitality’s events team were delighted to be running both the London and Birmingham regional finals last week as 18 talented chefs cooked their dishes using Devon White chicken, chicken livers and leeks, for The Roux Scholarship’s esteemed judges, including Michel Roux Jr, Alain Roux, Angela Hartnett OBE and Mark Birchall. The chefs, all aged 23-29, were also set the task of creating a dessert focused on the theme of Île Flottante from a mystery box of 26 enticing sponsors’ ingredients, such as pistachio paste, amareno cherries and freshly picked forced rhubarb. Those who succeeded in progressing to the final impressed the judges with their individual flair, their efficient cooking techniques and minimal food waste. Four of the six have reached the National Final before.
The National Finalists are:
Judging at the University of West London, Michel Roux Jr said: “I was very impressed by all the chicken dishes, but for me the highlight was the sauces. The sauces are the backbone of a good dish, and those who really perfected theirs really stood out.”
Also judging at the University of West London, Emily Roux added: “I think all of the regional finalists worked very well, they were composed and did their best. There were some great dishes, and I absolutely love Île Flottante, so I was generously served!”
Judging at the University College Birmingham, Alain Roux told us: “I was surprised how many of the chefs chose the same ingredients and flavours from the mystery box, when there was so much else to choose from. They seemed to play it safe, but their dishes did taste good.”
Sat Bains who was also judging at the University College Birmingham added: “Some of the chicken dishes were cooked beautifully, very well-seasoned. And one of the winning desserts, the île flottante was spot on: the portion size, it had the right sweetness and acidity with the rhubarb.”
The challenge
The 18 chefs and two reserves were selected from their written recipes, using one Devon White slow-grown, free-range chicken, and its chicken livers, along with two simple or composed garnishes/accompaniments, one of which had to be predominantly leek-based. A sauce had to accompany the dish. The regional finalists had 2.5 hours to cook their dish, along with a dessert devised and prepared from a mystery box of ingredients given to them on the day. The judges were looking for dishes that demonstrated the best balance of creativity, taste, style and practicality.
The 2026 mystery box
For this year’s mystery box dessert challenge, finalists were tasked with making a dessert with as many or as few ingredients from the 26 items as they liked. They were guided towards making a dessert along the theme of ‘Île Flottante’ to demonstrate their skills. We appreciate the excellent ingredients supplied by some of our sponsors, including Agrimontana dried fruit and nut products, Allan Reeder butter and cream, Cornish Sea Salt, L’Unico Caffé Musetti, St Ewe Free Range Eggs, a selection of goods from Wellocks, as well as The Macallan, Filippo Berio and Showerings Cider.
The national final will take place on Monday 13th April 2026, and will be managed by the IoH events team.
In the final, the six finalists will compete for the title of Roux Scholar 2026, which will take place at the Alain Roux Culinary School at The Waterside Inn. For the national final, the recipe details will be a complete surprise; 45 minutes before the start of the competition the finalists will be given the ingredients for a main dish, either classic or modern, and given up to three hours to prepare and present their dish to the judges.
Good luck to all the finalists.
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