By Angela Green, Content Executive, H&C News: The Roux Scholarship hosts roundtable to promote diversity.
The Roux Scholarship was delighted to host a Round Table discussion at Caractère, Notting Hill recently with some of the UK hospitality industry’s leading figures.
The aim was to share knowledge, experiences and ideas for encouraging more entries from more female chefs and to achieve more diversity among finalists for the 2023 competition, which launches on 7th November.
As the most prestigious competition for young chefs, The Roux Scholarship is committed to encouraging chefs from all backgrounds and demographics to enter.
The first round of judging is done entirely anonymously, so each applicant has an equal chance of qualifying for the regional finals, as they are judged on the quality of the recipe alone. However, throughout its history, The Roux Scholarship has only ever had one female winner, Mercy Fenton in 1994, and fewer female regional and national finalists than male.
Therefore, to address this issue, we hosted a round table discussion with some of the leading figures in the UK hospitality industry to drill down into the issues facing female chefs in Britain today and how this might be addressed in the context of The Roux Scholarship. A White Paper detailing the main points of the discussion and the resulting action plan will be published in time for the competition launch.
The event is among a number of initiatives and changes to the competition intended to widen its appeal and open the incredible opportunities offered by the Roux Scholarship to more chefs. Details will be announced on 7th November.
