A NORTHUMBERLAND chef is through to the finals of a prestigious industry competition.

Restaurant Pine’s Liam Smith has been shortlisted as one of six finalists in the annual Roux Scholarship.

Liam, from Catton, Northumberland, embarked on his culinary career shortly after leaving secondary school in Hexham. Like many of his contemporaries, he started out as a kitchen porter before taking on his first cheffing role at the Crown Inn in his home village.

After this, he decided to further his career and moved to Scotland to work in the kitchens at Gleneagles, where he stayed for five years, including two spent learning the art of pastry.

During that time, he entered several culinary competitions, including the prestigious Young Chef Young Waiter competition and the highly regarded Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Excellence Awards, making it through to the finals.

Liam successfully impressed the judges in his respective regional heat on March 7. He had 2½ hours to cook the recipe they’d previously submitted with their application, using a bone-in short loin of free-range gilt pork, two fresh pork kidneys, and sweet potatoes.

On the day, they were also challenged to produce a dessert using items from 2024’s ingredient mystery box, which included Braeburn apples, blueberries, root ginger, and chestnut flour.

Pine’s Liam Smith said: “I guess it’s hard to prep for the final, but I’ll be doing lots of reading of classical cookbooks. And then on the day, I guess it’s a case of keeping your head.”

The next stage of the competition is finals day, which will be held on April 8 at Westminster Kingsway College, London.

On the day, Liam will have just 45 minutes before cooking gets underway to look at his mystery box of ingredients. After that, his task will be to plan, prepare, and cook a main dish in three hours before presenting the finished dish to the judges, who will then decide who their overall winner is.

The eventual winner then has the opportunity to choose one of two top prizes.  The first is a fully expensed opportunity to cook and train under the supervision of a leading chef at a three-star Michelin restaurant anywhere in the world for up to two months. The second is a programme of training opportunities tailored to the individual winner’s career goals, worth up to £12,000.