The Roux Scholarship: Yorkshire chef Rosie Bull at Tommy Banks’ restaurant reaches semi-finals of cooking competition
A junior sous chef at The Black Swan at Oldstead has made it through to the semi-finals of the Roux Scholarship.
Rosie Bull, 24, who works at The Black Swan at Odstead as their junior sous chef and lives in Helmsley, has made it through to the semi finals of The Roux Scholarship in Birmingham on Thursday, March 5, 2026.
The Roux Scholarship is a cookery competition for young chefs aged between 22 and 30 that features a host of former winners now running their own restaurants and earning Michelin stars.
It is being judged by Michel Roux Jnr, Angela Hartnett OBE, Brian Turner CBE and James Martin among others.
“I feel extremely honoured and privileged to be able to compete in such a great competition,” Ms Bull said.
“It’s super exciting; I’m just going to take everything they say away from it and I’m going to learn a lot and it’s quite nice to be surrounded by such talented people as well.
“It’s going to make me feel slightly uncomfortable but also it’s good to be uncomfortable, it just means you’re going to grow as a chef and a person.
“Regardless of who judges my [cooking], I’m just excited to be there. I’m going to embrace every single moment I have there.”
Ms Bull, who is originally from Barton, came across an advert for the competition on Instagram and felt inspired by the ingredients.
“I thought there’s nothing to lose, I might as well just apply,” she said.
“I started developing the dish; you can send off a maximum of two photos of your dish, send off all your recipes which had to be perfectly matched to serve four people.
“You then had to cost everything and you had a budget of £25 per portion and they penalised you and made sure that everything that you sent across added up perfectly as well.
“I found that quite cool because I never costed a menu or anything like that myself, it was nice to be able to learn that side of it.
“You had to send a photo of yourself and an updated CV. I waited just over three or four weeks and then I found out that I’d made it through.
“The second step next week will be doing the dish that I sent off and completing a pastry mystery box where I get given random ingredients and have to come up with a dessert and that’s all got to be completed within two and a half hours.”
The flavours she used for her entry recipe were chicken, leek, tarragon and mushroom.
“I decided to do a chicken breast which was stuffed with a chicken mousse with tarragon and duck liver going through it as well.
“Then I seasoned that up with a little bit of lemon zest, parsley, and fresh herbs just so it’s not too rich and it helps cut through my overall dish as well.
“I did some nice braised leeks which had been braised in a little bit of Vin Jaune, a yellow wine, that added an acidic feel to the dish as well.
“I really like a Vin Jaune sauce so I thought that would also complement the chicken itself as well.
“I utilised any of my chicken trim by making a really nice, intense chicken mushroom glaze; you get the richness from the sauce, a pickle acidic flavour coming through from the mushrooms and the leeks themselves are quite fresh and quite acidic as well.
“It seems to harmonise and I love stuff like that which is why at the start I felt really inspired by the ingredients.”
During the next step of the competition, Ms Bull will be cooking her recipe in front of the judges and completing a pastry mystery box within a two-and-a-half-hour window.
The final will be aired on TV - details to be announced.
“If I got through to the final I’d win a thousand pounds and get a lot of sponsorships as well,” she said.
“If I won the whole competition, [I’d be] set for life after that.
“The Roux family sends you on loads of trips abroad, you get to go to a three Michelin-starred restaurant and you can choose pretty much anywhere you want to go.
“There’s loads to it, you win £12,000 worth of prizes which is incredible and not only that, it’s the experience and knowledge you take from it as well.”
Her love of cooking began at her first job working at her auntie’s pub washing pot and waitressing when she was just 14 years old.
“I’ve always been surrounded by hospitality and it’s second nature to me,” Ms Bull said.
“Growing up, my grandmother used to always make home-cooked meals for us after school, even if it was a lasagne or shepherd’s pie.
“We’d always do baking together in the summer time, I pretty much spent my whole summer holidays with my nan, which is cute.
“I’ve always enjoyed being in the kitchen anyway and it was just a bonus to be placed in my auntie’s pub and help the family business.”
After finishing her A levels, she studied at Wyke College in Hull followed by catering college before searching for Michelin-starred restaurants within her area.
Ms Bull did a three-month work experience at Winteringham Fields in Lincolnshire where she became the chef de partie for two years before moving to the Lake District for a few months.
She then moved back down to North Yorkshire to work at The Black Swan at Oldstead where she currently works.
“Callum, Alice and Tommy are all amazing chefs and it’s really nice to take a lot of inspiration and nurturing from them,” Ms Bull said.
“Here at the Black Swan they’re really focused on farm-to-fork fields towards the food. Not a lot of restaurants are currently doing that..
“It’s so inspiring when you go out mid-afternoon, collect your own produce and use it on the menu that evening.
“As a chef that’s one of the best things you can ever do.”