Colyton chef reaches final of prestigious Roux Scholarship culinary competition

East Devon based chef Sam Lomas is in the running for the title of best young chef in Britain. 

Sam, 27, born in Cheshire but now working at Glebe House Devon in Southleigh, near Colyton, has reached the national finals of the prestigious culinary competition, the Roux Scholarship. 

He impressed judged with the anonymous written recipe stage of the competition, in which he was tasked with creating a dish using stripling of dry-aged beef, beef offal and Belgian chicory.

He then headed to London for the regional finals, judged by two Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jnr, competing against 17 others aged 30 or under to win a place in the national final.  

Fellow East Devon chef Jack Cannell, from the Tytherleigh Arms, near Axminster, also reached the regional finals.

Sam will face competition from six other young chefs in the final on April 3, and will have to devise and cook a dish on the spot, using a key ingredient that will not be announced until the day. 

The winner will be able to choose between the opportunity to cook and train with a top chef at a three-star Michelin restaurant anywhere in the world, or undertake a specialist training programme tailored to their career goals. 

Sam was previously recognised in the 2022 '30 under 30' list of rising star hospitality professionals and became the youngest chef to reach the finals of BBC2's Great British Menu last year.

He moved from Cheshire to the Devon countryside to start his career at the famous River Cottage, where he won the Rising Star Award in 2013.

Sam's dishes are creative, seasonal and locally inspired. He's dedicated to having a close connection with local suppliers and helping to grow his own and raise livestock on site.