BaxterStorey’s Kenneth Culhane named 2010 Roux Scholar
Kenneth Culhane, Sous Chef, who works at Level 31 for our client Barclays, has won the fiercely fought for Roux Scholar for 2010. In a hotly contested final held on 29 March 2010, Kevin, along with his 5 competitors who included Kevin Sutherland who he works alongside at the Barclays fine dining restaurant, was asked to produce Fillet of beef en croûte à la Bisontine, and traditional accompaniments including pommes duchesse and sauce béarnaise, under stringent conditions and in just over 2 hours.
In its 27th year, the Roux Scholarship is the premier competition for young chefs in the UK and ranks among the most sought after titles in the world. The competition is organised by the Roux family ‐ Michel, Albert, Alain and Michel Roux jnr who were present at the event to judge the competition. They were joined by Gary Rhodes, Brian Turner, Andrew Fairlie, David Nicholls and guest judge James Martin.
All of the judges agreed that Kenneth produced the finest results on the day and Michel Roux Snr, OBE, said: “Kenneth’s dish was really appealing ‐ to our great delight it tasted as good as it looked.”
Kenneth’s win was only the second in the competition’s history by a chef working in the food service sector. Albert Roux, OBE noted that he was extremely pleased to see such this sector of the industry represented by such high quality. He said, “I am particularly pleased that we have another winner from within contract catering. It goes to show that good food is everywhere.”
Commenting on Kenneth Culhane’s win at the 2010 Roux Scholarship, Alastair Storey, CEO, BaxterStorey, said: “We are delighted for Kenneth, he is a highly talented chef who has an incredible future ahead of him and his is a deserved winner of this title. We’re extremely proud of what both he and Kevin Sutherland have achieved in this most prestigious of culinary competitions as well as the excellent standards they deliver every day in their kitchens. They are both outstanding ambassadors for the food service industry, their profession and our business.
“At BaxterStorey we are committed to developing the skills and careers of UK chefs. Our training programmes such as the Chef Academy are designed to foster creativity and allow our brigades to achieve the highest pinnacles in their careers. The outstanding achievement of the Roux family in supporting British cooking and their dedication to promoting the incredible quality and skill that can be found in UK kitchens is something that we greatly respect at BaxterStorey and we look forward to a long association with the programme.”