Second-time lucky for Forster in Roux event

Frederick Forster, sous chef at Addington Palace in Croydon, Surrey, has been named Roux Scholar 2000 following a tense cook-off held at Claridge's in London last week.

The 25-year-old chef, who competed for the 1997 scholarship, saidhe was "ecstatic" about clinching the title.

"I took part in the scholarship three years ago and was disappointed not to get into the final," commented Forster, "but I was a better chef this time around - I have matured both as a chef and within myself."

Forster, who spent three years working under Gordon Ramsay athis former restaurant Aubergine, London, and also spent time at Bernard Loiseau's Le Côte d'Or restaurant in Saulieu in the Bourgogne, said he hoped that his prize of three months in any three-Michelin-starred restaurant would take him to the kitchens of Pierre Gagnaire at Hôtel Balzac, Paris.

"I have been excited by Pierre Gagnaire's cooking for a number of years. He has an undoubted talent and to be able to see the great man in action will be like living a dream. It means everything to me."

The six finalists included Steven Drake of London's Aubergine; Roisin Gavin of Deane's restaurant in Belfast; Matthew Pashley of the Lygon Arms in Broadway, Worcester; Glynn Purnell of Simpson's in Warwickshire; and Allan Pickett of London's Orrery, who was placed runner-up for the second consecutive year. They were asked to prepare and present the Escoffier recipe filets de sole Andalouse (fillets of sole, stuffed with a whiting mousse, served on tomatoes filled with capsicum risotto, aubergines and a herb-flavoured nage) in less than two hours.

Forster, whose entry was described by the judges as "definitely a clear winner", wins an opportunity to join the culinary team on board a luxury cruiser in the Caribbean, a magnum of Champagne Gosset Grand Rosé and Grande Reserve, an all-expenses-paid trip to the wine cellars of Champagne Gosset in Ay, as well as his scholarship.

As the 17th scholar to win the competition, founded by Michel and Albert Roux, he also won his establishment a range of All-Clad cookware worth £2,000.

For a full report on the Roux Scholarship, see Caterer 4 May.

by Amanda Afiya