A former North Leamington Secondary School pupil has successfully made it through the regional finals of the prestigious 2016 Roux Scholarship.
Harry Guy, who is Support and Development Chef for the Eden Hotel Collection and has worked at the group’s multi-award-winning Mallory Court Hotel near Leamington Spa, was one of 18 chefs competing at two regional finals held simultaneously at University College Birmingham and University of West London on Thursday, March 17.
The competitors were challenged to create a recipe to serve four people using a whole fresh Pollock, live whole cockles, a sauce and two garnishes, as well as a dessert from a mystery box of ingredients.
Harry and five other chefs were judged at the Birmingham-based finals by Michel Roux Jnr and former Roux Scholarship winners André Garrett and Steve Love, who were looking for recipes and methods which demonstrated the best balance of creativity, taste, style and practicality.
The judges praised Harry’s dish for being well executed and seasoned. They also loved the acidity within the fish. Harry will now compete against five other chefs at the final in London on April 4th.
The 26-year-old chef first cut his teeth at Mallory Court in 2007, spending six years working under the Eden Hotel Collection’s Food and Beverage Director, Simon Haigh, whom Harry describes as his ‘biggest influence’.
He went on to work with Simon Rogan at his flagship 2 Michelin Star Cumbrian restaurant L’Enclume before returning to Mallory Court last year.
Harry, who was inspired to become a chef while working as a pot washer in a hotel in Princethorpe as a 14-year-old, says: “I'm extremely happy with my performance and it’s something I’ve been working very hard towards. Now it's time to focus on the final to try and perform as well as I can. I'd like to thank Simon and the Eden Hotel Collection for giving me time to practice and for all the feedback given. The support is much appreciated.”
Mallory Court is part of the Eden Hotel Collection, the AA’s Small Hotel Group of the Year 2014-15. One of the top 200 hotels in the country, it is a long-standing member of the revered Relais and Châteaux group.
For further information about dining at Mallory Court, or to make a reservation at The Dining Room, visit www.mallory.co.uk