Ruby Goodens, who has ambitions to work in fine dining, has won a coveted internship at top restaurant CORD
Promising young chef Ruby Goodens has proven she’s the cream of the crop having scooped third place a highly prestigious national competition. The 19 year-old apprentice, from Brough, impressed judges at Le Cordon Bleu London’s prestigious 2025 Scholarship Competition and has earned herself a place on Le Cordon Bleu’s Summer Essentials Course, plus a two-week internship at CORD and special prizes from The Savoy and Phaidon.
The East Riding College student, who works in the kitchens of Cave Castle Hotel, said judges “jaws hit the floor” when she revealed she had just celebrated her 19th birthday given many of the other 16 finalists in the competition were older. This year’s scholarship carried special significance, marking Le Cordon Bleu’s 130th anniversary, and saw the aspiring chefs showcase their skills in a live culinary challenge, before presenting their completed dishes to a panel including Emily Roux from Caractère, Chris Galvin from Galvin Restaurants, Nicolas Houchet from The Savoy, and winner of the 2024 Scholarship, Caoimhe O’Neill-McGuinness.
Ruby, who jokes the experience was “terrifying”, is seasoned competitor in cooking competitions. She said: “You could see how passionate everyone was about it. And you could see everyone wanted to be there and loved cooking. That’s a massive thing because you didn’t get the vibe anyone was forced into it.
“There were people there of all ages. There was a 35 year-old and then me, who signed up at the age of 18.”
During the process, Ruby got to meet high profile chef and restaurateur Michel Roux Jr and the chef behind CORD, Karl O’Dell. She also got to watch chef Marco Ardemangi create a savoury choux ring with mushroom, mascarpone, and hazelnut, and spent time cooking herself.
Ruby added: “We had to recreate his dish in the kitchen, under timed conditions and with the best kit that you can imagine, which was really good. Then we had to present it to the judges, including some really good chefs. We had to explain to them why we wanted the scholarship and what we thought about our dish.
“You got to have a really good chat with the judges, which I really enjoyed.”
Emma Keenan, aged 27, from Northern Ireland, won first prize having shown her determination and intuition in the kitchen, and the genuine passion for the culinary arts that came across in her interview. Second place went to Melissa Kuo from London. The three were crowned at an awards ceremony and dinner hosted by CORD on the same day as the competition.
Emil Minev, culinary arts director at Le Cordon Bleu London, said: “This year’s 130th Anniversary Scholarship has been one of our most exciting and competitive to date. The level of creativity and dedication from all the finalists was exceptional, and Emma distinguished herself with outstanding technique and passion. We are honoured to support their culinary journey.”