Ian Scaramuzza, wins the Roux Scholarship 2015

Ian Scaramuzza, head chef at Claude Bosi’s two-Michelin-starred Hibiscus in London, has won the 2015 Roux Scholarship. He beat five other finalists who all prepared ‘Turban of sole and salmon à la marinière’ at a cook-off held at Westminster Kingsway, London on Monday 30 March.

Scaramuzza, 29, who entered the competition for the first time this year, was battling it out against fellow chefs Scott Dineen, Goldman Sachs, (BaxterStorey), London; Gavin Edney, Cliveden House, Taplow, Berkshire; Sabrina Gidda, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, (Restaurant Associates), London; Daniel Lee, JP Morgan, (Aramark), London and Richard Pascoe, The Feversham Arms Hotel, Helmsley, North Yorkshire.

Commenting on Scaramuzza’s win, Michel Roux Jr said: “Ian’s dish was straightforward, not too elaborate but the taste and technique won the day. He used the truffle superbly, it shined, and balanced well with the sorrel which can be quite tart. All the judges enjoyed it and we had a good feed.”

Alain Roux added: “Ian stood out because he showed us an excellent all round performance. Ian is a talented, yet humble chef, he will make a great scholar.”

Scaramuzza, born in Glasgow, previously worked for the first Roux Scholar, Andrew Fairlie, at his restaurant within the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterader, Scotland, said: “I enjoyed it. It was tough but I was quite happy, although a little panicky at the start. The pressure of the competition got to me a bit. I’d have loved an extra ten minutes to improve the presentation. It was a good tough dish, nothing I’d cooked or even seen before, a pure challenge.”

The young chefs had three hours to cook the Escoffier inspired recipe in front of the judges. Joining the Roux family this year were Andrew Fairlie, Angela Hartnett MBE, James Martin, David Nicholls, Gary Rhodes OBE and Brian Turner CBE.

Scaramuzza receives £6,000, and an invitation to cook and train under the supervision of a leading chef at a prestigious 3-star Michelin restaurant anywhere in the world for up to three months.

“I’d like to go to Benu in San Francisco for my stage. It’s a small kitchen and there’s nowhere to hide. It’ll be busy.” Ian said afterwards.