A man from Bermondsey has just been crowned the UK’s best young chef, winning £6,000 and the chance to cook at any restaurant in the world.
Karol Ploch, a sous chef from Kerridge’s Bar and Grill, has won The Roux Scholarship 2024.
The 28-year-old beat five other finalists in a challenging final cook-off held at the Alain Roux Culinary School at The Waterside Inn on Monday 8 April.
It was Karol’s first time entering the competition – renowned as one of the most prestigious in the industry.
After winning over the judges with his dish of poached rainbow trout with champagne and oyster sauce, Karol said: “It’s an amazing feeling, but overwhelming too.
“I’m just glad mine came out well.”
For this year’s final, the six chefs were asked to prepare their own dish centred around poached rainbow trout and Carlingford oysters, with a wide choice of other ingredients.
At the start of the competition, the chefs were shown a table displaying dozens of ingredients that would allow them to interpret the brief as they chose.
The chefs were asked to ‘tell a bold story composed of minimal yet impactful elements.’ They had three hours to do it.
Karol said: “The cook-off was stressful at the beginning but I had cooked trout before so I had some techniques. I just kept it very simple.
“Our plates were taken to the other room so we didn’t see how the judges reacted to our food.”
The judging panel was led by three-Michelin star chef Thomas Keller, alongside joint chairmen Alain and Michel Jr, who were joined by TV Chef James Martin, Vice-Chairman Brian Turner CBE, Sat Bains (1999 scholar), André Garrett MCA (2002 Scholar), Clare Smyth MBE and Emily Roux.
Chef Keller congratulated Karol on his win, commenting: “Your expertise, patience and commitment to your craft are evident. You should be extremely proud of the work you displayed today.”
On Karol, Alain Roux said: “For someone that’s cooking in a bar or grill – it was a level on top.”
The winning chef receives £6,000, with an additional £6,000 awarded if they stay with their current employer for 15 additional months.
They have the choice between two different star prizes: the invitation to cook and train under the supervision of a leading chef at a prestigious three-star Michelin restaurant anywhere in the world for up to two months; or a bespoke training programme tailored to the chef’s ambitions, skills gaps and interests.
Asked what he was going to choose, Karol told us he wanted to go and do a few stints at different restaurants around the world.
“There’s so many options – even a course on how to sharpen knives.
“The competition helped me make lots of new connections with people in the industry – and I got lots of good feedback from amazing chefs.”
His family is back home in Poland and Karol added that they were ‘very happy for him’ when he told them the news. “They know it’s a life-changing opportunity.”
Click here to find out more about the scholarship and how to enter for next year.
Catch up on the live stream of the competition here.