Somerset chef makes final of Roux Scholarship award

Ben Champkin is now the head chef at The Newt in Somerset

A Somerset chef has reached the national final of the Roux Scholarship competition for the fourth time.

Michel and Albert Roux established the Roux Scholarship in 1983 rewarding the winner a two-month posting at a three-star Michelin restaurant anywhere.

30-year-old Ben Champkin, from Yeovil, is the head chef at The Newt in Castle Cary and said he is "determined".

This is the last year he is eligible for the competition due to the age of entrants being capped at 30.

The Roux Scholarship has long been seen as the premier cooking competition for UK chefs.

Mr Champkin started in Sherborne at the Eastbury Hotel & Spa when he was 16-years-old and since then has worked in Torquay, the Lake District, and the Napa Valley in California before moving to The Newt in Somerset.

He made it through the regional final on 9 March where he was asked to cook a submitted recipe and will now be one of six chefs competing in the national final next month.

As well as the two-month posting at any three-star Michelin restaurant anywhere in the world, the winner of the Roux Scholarship gets up to £12,000, or the option of a bespoke training programme tailored to their interests and skills gaps.

Michel Roux Jr is one of the judges of the prestigious competition

Other finalists are Christopher Clarke from Core by Clare Smyth in London, Oliver Dovey from Baxterstorey in London, Sam Lomas from Glebe House in Devon, April Lily Partridge from The Ledbury in London, Alex Rothnie from L'Enclume in Cumbria.

Mr Champkin said: "I've been following the competition since I was 25 and worked with prestigious head chefs that have also gone on to win the competition.

"So it's always been an ambition of mine to take part, and hopefully be crowned the Roux Scholar.

"I'm quite relieved to get to the final, this is my last chance to give it a go and so I'm determined to never give up."

Mr Champkin said he was feeling the pressure as he has been to the final four times before but it was "anyone's game" and "depended on the day".

For the final chefs will be presented with a dish to cook, with no prior warning.

The final will take place at Westminster Kingsway College in London on 3 April.

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