A young Aberdeen chef has spoken of his delight at making it to the final of a prestigious cooking competition.
Alex Rothnie, 26, said he was “very happy” after his dish won over judges for the Roux Scholar 2023 including former Saturday Kitchen host James Martin.
His win on Thursday secured one of six spots in the 2023 final, which will be held in London on Monday April 3.
Up for grabs is a £12,000 cash prize as well as a two-month stint at a three-star Michelin restaurant anywhere in the world.
Past winners include Luke Selby, who is now executive head chef at the renowned Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire.
The scholarship programme is overseen by celebrity chef Michel Roux Jr, who last year gave his opinion on a buttery to The P&J.
Alex, who is senior sous chef at L’Enclume in Cumbria, said: “That was the fastest two and a half hours I have ever experienced, particularly the last half an hour which was stressful but I’m very happy with the results.
“I was under a lot of pressure because I work with Tom Barnes, a former winner, and he said many times ‘You’ll get through to the final,’ and so he will be very happy.”
A Roux Scholar menu of dry-aged beef and offal
Alex won through at the Birmingham regional final, where he was required to cook a meal of his choosing for the judging panel.
The dish had to include certain ingredients, including a striploin of dry-aged beef and one piece of beef offal (either heart, tongue, or kidney)
Alex had two and half a half hours’ cooking time for the dish, alongside a dessert to serve four people made from a ‘mystery box’ of ingredients given on the day.
For the final, he will be given a surprise recipe 30 minutes prior to the start time. He has up to three hours to prepare and present it to the judges.
Last year, a team of chefs including three from the north-east travelled to Luxembourg to compete in the Culinary World Cup representing Scotland.
The team finished the competition with a double bronze medal.
Conversation