Eastbourne teen wins Le Cordon Bleu Scholarship Competition

Caoimhe O’Neill-McGuinness, 18, from Eastbourne, was crowned following a finale on Monday.

At the final stage of the competition, held at Le Cordon Bleu London, 15 shortlisted finalists were tasked with recreating a Provençal tart as demonstrated to them by Le Cordon Bleu London’s head cuisine chef Eric Bediat.

The finalists were tasked with recreating a Provençal Tart (Image: Le Cordon Bleu) The finalists were judged by senior Le Cordon Bleu staff and a panel of guest judges including Chris Galvin of Galvin Restaurants, Emily Roux of Caractère and Le Cordon Bleu’s culinary arts director chef Emil Minev. 

The awards evening was attended by celebrated chefs and restaurateurs such as Michel Roux Jr, Chris Galvin, Michael Kwan (The Dorchester), Rakesh Nair (Cinnamon Collection), Nicolas Houchet (The Savoy), Daniel Stucki (Sketch) and Shaun Whatling (The Berkeley). 

Caoimhe has been awarded a full scholarship to pursue Le Cordon Bleu’s renowned Grand Diplôme, along with a coveted internship at CORD by Le Cordon Bleu, mentoring from Michel Roux Jr, and accommodation in London for a year.

Caoimhe has been awarded a full scholarship to pursue Le Cordon Bleu’s renowned Grand Diplôme (Image: Le Cordon Bleu) The promising chef also wins a range prizes including work experience at Galvin Restaurants and mentorship with chef patron Chris Galvin and a behind-the-scenes trip to Andros HQ in South-West France.

Caoimhe said: “It feels amazing to be the winner of the 2024 Le Cordon Bleu scholarship. What an incredible prize, studying the Grand Diplôme and the opportunity to intern at CORD, where I will be producing food of such a high standard. It’s incredible to have Michel Roux Jr and Chris Galvin as mentors. I’m just so excited and can’t wait to start.”