Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland has awarded the annual Andrew Fairlie Scholarship to two worthy winners after the “immaculate” standard of the two chefs. The final winners were Darren Seggie, Lecturer of Culinary Arts at City of Glasgow College and Rachel Bremner, Commis Pastry Chef at The Balmoral, after impressing the expert industry judges.
Five finalists battled it out on the day, with a skills test to create a dish with potato as its star ingredient while incorporating Scottish dairy and a challenge to deliver surprise dish using hand-dived scallops.
Stephen McLaughlin, lead judge and head chef at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, said, “Our five finalists have competed fiercely and fairly today and they have all given it everything to win this year’s Andrew Fairlie Scholarship. Everyone competed with great character and commitment and showed a real respect for one another this afternoon.
“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. This was a tough one to find just one winner today as everyone cooked so well and all had showed great application in getting this far.
“We had no choice but to award two deserving winners… This year’s winners not only submitted immaculate application packs but followed this through and showcased themselves clearly as the best on the day with clean, precise and creative cookery”.
The winners will be taken on a 2-day educational trip to France with Grande Cuisine, and gain hands-on experience at the 2-Michelin star Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, the 3-star Core by Clare Smyth in London, an international stage, as well as receiving a bespoke chef’s jacket from Goodfellows. These highly informative experiences will be taken over two years, allowing both talented scholars to develop their learnings over an extended period of time.
The scholarships are offered in partnership with HIT Scotland, the industry charity with which Andrew Fairlie was closely connected. Now in its fourth year, the Andrew Fairlie Scholarship is supported by HIT Scotland, Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Perth College UHI and The Gleneagles Hotel.
David Cochrane, HIT Scotland Chief Executive, added, “It was a true delight to see our group of finalists demonstrate a passion for cooking that Andrew Fairlie would be proud of. A huge congratulations goes to Darren and Rachel, who have demonstrated exceptional skill, creativity, and dedication to their craft. They have bright culinary futures ahead!
The 2023 finalists were:
- Daniel Robb, Chef de Partie at Gleneagles
- Rachel Bremner, Commis Pastry Chef at the Balmoral
- Darren Seggie, Lecturer of Culinary Arts at City of Glasgow College
- Spud Henderson, Sous Chef at Craig Millar @ 16 West End
- Rita Varga, Chef de Partie and kitchen departmental trainer at Voco Grand Central Hotel.
