Meet Jonnie Ferguson, the 2022 Roux Scholarship winner

22 April 2022 by

Not winning the 2021 Roux Scholarship didn't put Jonnie Ferguson off – he reapplied and snatched victory in 2022. Here's what went down in the final

There were raised eyebrows among the judging panel after the finalists of the Roux Scholarship 2022 were presented with this year's final task. Six chefs battled at the stoves to cook the classical dish of chaud-froid of Merrifield duck à l'orange with chartreuse of asparagus.

"It's really, really hard – a cold dish, as well. I don't think any of them will have done anything like this before. It was a real challenge," said Clare Smyth, judge and chef-owner of three-Michelin-starred Core by Clare Smyth. While James Martin, chef and TV personality described the task as a "tall order" and added: "It is tougher than last year, you need first to understand what it is and then have time to get everything cold and set."

When asked why this particular dish was chosen, Michel Roux Jr replied with an "oh la la". Clearly, this was not an easy task.

"The actual name of the dish might sound daunting and, in some respects, old-fashioned, but when you break it down, it's all about the skill set required to become a Roux scholar," he said. The "endless" list of skills required to make the classic dish included the butchery and preparation of the duck, knowing how to roast the bird properly and using the legs, offal and bones.

"So you have all those techniques and then it's realising it's a cold dish and understanding how to make a consommé, because a jelly is basically a set consommé," added Michel Jr. "The asparagus chartreuse and the vegetables mean you can go to town with the decoration and be fanciful and decorative with the presentation – the dish can be quite extravagant."

But after three hours in the kitchens at Westminster Kingsway College, following a deliberately vague brief and a short period of scanning through reference books, it was Jonathan Ferguson, junior sous chef at the Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Crieff, who won the coveted scholarship for his creativity, presentation and the taste of the classic dish.

Second time lucky

Alain Roux described Ferguson as a clear winner. "Between the quality of the cooking and the flavours that came out of the dish, there was one which was extremely creative with the presentation and the taste – he went a step ahead."

He added: "It's a traditional old-style dish, which at the end of the day isn't seen on many restaurants or hotel menus, but it needs to come back into fashion because part of that dish can be used by today's clientele. The six finalists were not that terrified – they were surprised with what was given as the challenge, but they are going to learn out of it."

Chef and judge Sat Bains praised Ferguson and said: "The cooking of the duck and its seasoning was fantastic, and the sauce was very innovative, made out of asparagus, which I thought was very clever and fresh." While head judge and chef Hélène Darroze said his meat cookery had been the best. "He had a bit more technique than the others – the choice was clear."

It was in fact a second attempt at the title in a mere six months for the 26-year-old. Ferguson lost out to 2021 winner Oli Williamson at last year's competition, which was delayed from April to October due to Covid-19. This short turnaround for Ferguson to reapply and practice for this year's competition was labelled as "courageous" by Darroze, while fellow judge André Garrett pointed out how much time and effort the competition takes out of contestants: "With everything we're all going through – whether you're running a business, in charge, or just one of the chefs in the team – it's a real pace with what we're all doing, and the Roux Scholarship takes time. Practice is very key."

Fate steps in

What made this win slightly more magical for Ferguson was that the luck of the draw saw him teamed up with the same commis chef – Joseph Slater – and placed at the same kitchen station as the 2021 final. "He was actually at the same station, with the same commis – how weird is that? It was just like fate," said Bains. "But it was a completely different dish to last time and these dishes can throw anybody worth their salt."

Speaking to The Caterer the morning after his win – which among many opulent prizes (see panel), includes the chance to work a three-month stage at any three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the world – Ferguson recalled the moment he realised he would be going through the final with Slater once again by his side.

"It was wild," he said. "I've kept in touch with him since last October, and we were chatting a few weeks back and he said he would try and help out again, but I assumed the students would go in rotation. He walked into the room yesterday morning and he just started smiling at me. We then had to pick numbers out of a hat, and I picked number four, which was the same kitchen station and Joseph was the commis. "I was buzzing, because it's so nice to have cooked with him before – it took that initial discomfort out of it.

He straight away set the section up how I liked it, because he remembered. It was a massive help and I was very lucky."

After being paired with a friendly face, panic started to set in once the brief was presented to the contestants, to create a dish of roasted duck served ‘hot-cold', coated in a brown chaud-froid jellied velouté sauce with chilled individual chartreuse of asparagus.

"In the last final, the two dishes we had to cook felt kind of comfortable as I knew how to go about it, but this year it was sheer panic initially as I had not made it before and I had to figure out how to go about it. I wrote a plan, but when I got into the kitchen, my instinct took over."

Chefs praised his taste, attention to detail and presentation, but Ferguson recalls how during the heat of the final he started second guessing himself and had to stop and pause to really listen to his gut. "I roasted the duck whole and then glazed the duck meat after taking the skin off as I thought I wouldn't want to eat cold duck skin, and I remembered that's what you do when you make this dish with chicken. But when you watch everyone else around you leave the skin on, you second-guess yourself."

Judges are keen contestants do not waste any of their ingredients, but back in October, Ferguson remembered feedback from Bains when he said the artichokes he served were too large. "I'd served a large portion so not to waste anything, but Sat said you need to have the balls to stick to your guns if you think it's too big. If asked, you should explain to the judges that you would trim the artichoke down or skin the duck, and use those leftover ingredients to perhaps put in a staff salad, which shows you've thought about it."

Classical training

As fellow judge Brian Turner said, the Roux Scholarship is "the guardian of classical dishes". "Chaud-froid duck à l'orange is a classic dish, this comes from years back," he added. "So people who have an advantage are those who have worked with a chef that understands the classic food of that era."

It was this exact experience that helped Ferguson succeed after years spent working in the kitchen alongside Andrew Fairlie, where he really got to grips with classical cooking. And when taking to the stage at the award ceremony at a glittering dinner at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, Ferguson dedicated it to the 1984 Roux scholar, who sadly passed away in January 2019.

Ferguson talks fondly of his four-and-a-half years at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Gleneagles, where he started as a commis and left as chef de partie. "It felt like going back to school. It was so much more than just the cooking, but how to dress yourself, carry yourself, work with suppliers and guests – the whole package. I came out the other side a very different person than the 19-year-old that started there."

He added: "Fairlie was an unbelievable boss to have – nobody had a bad word to say about him – and he was very good at looking after us as staff. I never once saw him blow up in the kitchen. He treated us with amazing respect and we loved him and worked incredibly hard for him in return. I learned a lot of classical techniques, stocks, sauces and braises, which played a big part in the competition."

After leaving Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Ferguson moved on to the Raby Hunt in Darlington, County Durham, where he was senior chef de partie. There he was supported to apply for the Roux Scholarship for the second time, before leaving in December 2021. He began his current role as junior sous chef at Glenturret Lalique restaurant a week before the restaurant received its first Michelin star – "so I came in for the glory run" – where head chef Mark Donald supported him over the hectic last few months of preparing for the competition.

"I'm very happy at Glenturret and I'm looking forward to getting back into work and hopefully get the stage planned for somewhere in the next year," he said.

So which kitchen does the 2022 Roux scholar have his eye on for the prestigious three-month stage? "It's a funny one, I always thought Asia, because I want to learn how to cook a cuisine and learn a cooking technique that I've not done a lot of in the past. But in reality, now it's happened, I'm not sure – it's so hard to pick. Maybe Zen or Odette in Singapore? Or I love the idea of going to the French Laundry in California, or maybe Alinea in Chicago. I'm going to take my time over the decision."

The brief for the 2022 Roux Scholarship final

Prepare and roast the ducks as crowns. Allow them to become cold then slice each breast. Make a brown chaud-froid sauce flavoured with duck and orange, that is cold but still liquid enough to glaze the ducks. Arrange one whole glazed duck and serve on a decorated service platter that has been coated in a clear duck flavoured aspic jelly. Garnish with two chartreuse of asparagus. Serve two remaining glazed duck breast and two chartreuse of asparagus on individual plates. Some extra jelly OR sauceto be served in two sauce boats.

You are requested to serve two portions on the round silver service platter provided, and two portions on the two plates also provided. Additional "simple" or "composed" garnish/accompaniment is not limited to the definition in the title of this dish. Most importantly we expect you to make efficient and best use of the ducks with minimum wastage of ingredients during preparation.

You are advised to respect the format of this composed dish but only to a point. Most importantly, we want to see some personality and flair in your cooking.

List of ingredients to prepare and cook your dish in three hours to serve four people:

  • 2 Merrifield farm ducks, with neck and liver
  • 2ltr Truefoods duck stock, brown
  • 1ltr Truefoods chicken stock, white
  • 500g duck fat
  • 48 medium green asparagus
  • 1 Spanish onion
  • 2 shallots
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 1 head of garlic
  • 1 leek
  • 250g baby spinach leaves
  • 3 large orange carrots
  • 2 large purple carrots
  • 2 large yellow carrots
  • ½ bunch flat leaf parsley
  • 1 bunch chervil
  • 375ml dry white wine
  • 50ml Grand Marnier liqueur
  • 100ml red wine vinegar
  • 200ml groundnut oil
  • 200ml olive oil
  • 250g unsalted butter
  • 125g flour
  • 250ml double cream
  • 500ml whipping cream
  • 250g Demerara sugar
  • 14 gelatine leaves
  • 8 eggs

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