Birchall, in his fourth and final year of entry, beat five other finalists in a competition held on the 18th April at Westminster Kingsway College. His version of the classic Veal Orloff, a boned and stuffed rack of veal, impressed the judges, who included members of the Roux family. Later 250 industry guests gathered to watch him claim his prize at a special evening ceremony at London's Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Michel Roux OBE said: "Mark was a clear winner, his dish was excellent, well seasoned and the cooking of each ingredient was bang on. After three previous times when his name wasn't called he could have given up but his perseverance has paid off, he has honed his skills and shown great determination to succeed, this is what being a Roux Scholar is all about. Well done!" Birchall commented on his win: "This was the toughest year of all my entries, without a doubt. None of us knew the dish or what it should look like. I knew that seasoning was going to be important and I just let my experience and food sense guide me. It's an amazing feeling. " The six finalists were given the task of cooking Roasted best end of veal Orloff style, kidney on skewers and stuffed vegetables, truffle jus from the Larousse Gastronomique, a 19th century symbol of classical French haute cuisine. The young chefs had two and a half hours to complete the task in front of judges. Joining the Roux family this year were Brian Turner CBE, Gary Rhodes OBE, David Nicholls and James Martin. Guest judge was Steve Love, the Roux Scholar from 1997.