The announcement follows the regional finals, during which 18 chefs cooked dishes for a panel of leading chefs in London and Birmingham.
Competitors prepared a dish using Devon White chicken, chicken livers and leeks, and were also set the task of creating a dessert based on the theme of île flottante from a mystery box of 26 ingredients.
The judging panel included Michel Roux Jr, Alain Roux, Angela Hartnett, Mark Birchall and Sat Bains.
The national finalists are:
- Liam Anderson, head chef at Midsummer House, Cambridge
- Harrison Brockington, head chef at Gather in Totnes, Devon
- Jordon Powell, head chef at Chalk Restaurant, West Sussex
- Oliver Robinson, senior sous chef at Coworth Park, Berkshire
- Nikoletta Theofylaktidou, senior sous chef, fine dining, Restaurant Associates, London
- George Wintle, senior chef de partie at Trinity, London
The reserve is James Rodgers from Coworth Park.
“I was very impressed by all the chicken dishes, but for me the highlight was the sauces. The sauces are the backbone of a good dish, and those who really perfected theirs really stood out,” said Michel Roux Jr.
Sat Bains added: “Some of the chicken dishes were cooked beautifully, very well seasoned. And one of the winning desserts, the île flottante, was spot on: the portion size, it had the right sweetness and acidity with the rhubarb.”
The six chefs will go on to cook at the national final on 13 April.
In the final, the six finalists will compete for the title of Roux Scholar 2026. The competition will take place at the Alain Roux Culinary School at The Waterside Inn.
For the national final, the recipe details will be a complete surprise: 45 minutes before the start of the competition the finalists will be given the ingredients for a main dish, either classic or modern, and will have up to three hours to prepare and present their dish to the judges.