The Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland has announced the winners of the annual Andrew Fairlie Scholarship.
Darren Seggie, 35, Lecturer in Culinary Arts at City of Glasgow College and Rachel Bremner, 34, Commis Pastry Chef at The Balmoral, scooped the twin titles in the fourth year of the competition.
Positioned as the ultimate scholarship for aspiring chefs the prize is awarded annually to a chef working in Scotland and carrying on the legacy of Andrew Fairlie’s commitment to nurturing culinary talent.
Challenged to create a dish with potato as its star ingredient while incorporating Scottish dairy produce, the finalists had further challenge of delivering a surprise dish using hand-dived scallops.
The final skills test took place at Perth College UHI, with the winners announced afterwards during a ceremony at Gleneagles.
The judging panel included Stephen McLaughlin, Sat Bains, Lorna McNee and Gary Maclean.
The winners will be taken on a two-day educational trip to France with Grande Cuisine and gain hands-on experience at the Two-Michelin-Star Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, the 3-Star Core by Clare Smyth in London and a separate international stage over a two-year period.
Stephen McLaughlin, lead judge and head chef at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, said: ‘Our five finalists gave everything this year and competed with great character and commitment.
‘The chefs should all be extremely proud of themselves for getting to the final but must also take great pride in how they handled the pressures of the day and in the fabulous dishes that they all produced. ‘We had no choice but to award two deserving winners. They not only submitted immaculate application packs but followed this through and showcased themselves as the best on the day with clean, precise and creative cookery.’
The 2023 finalists included:
- Daniel Robb, 27, Chef de Partie at Gleneagles
- Rachel Bremner, 34, Commis Pastry Chef at the Balmoral
- Spud Henderson, 34, Sous Chef at Craig Millar @ 16 West End
- Darren Seggie, 35, Lecturer of Culinary Arts at City of Glasgow College
- Rita Varga, 31, Chef de Partie and kitchen departmental trainer at Voco Grand Central Hotel