A former Penrith Queen Elizabeth Grammar School student is achieving national recognition in a contest to find Britain’s best young chef — having reached the finals of the celebrated 2025 Roux Scholarship competition.
Katherine Altham, born and raised in the Penrith area, had an impressive academic career, also attending Oxford University where she earned a first-class BA in Oriental studies (Egyptology).
However, she had always enjoyed baking and cooking at home and when she got a job at the Roundthorn Country House Hotel, Penrith, after leaving university, it was soon a high-quality kitchen career that was calling.
Katherine, aged 28, who is chef de partie at the Michelin-starred Hélène Darroze restaurant at The Connaught, in Mayfair, London, was brought up in Yanwath on the family farm, attending Yanwath School before QEGS and then Oxford.
She worked at the Roundthorn Country House in 2019 after she left university.
“I wasn’t planning to make this my career. I came back and I thought I would get a job while I was at home and I was interested in food and I thought I would try working in a kitchen to see what it is like and maybe try it for a year and then perhaps go and do something else. I did it for a year, and after a year the head chef said ‘why don’t you go to Kendal College?’”
Katherine did just that and it was a very positive experience for her, with “very encouraging tutors”. “It really set me up for working in fine dining,” she said.
She soon found herself working at the Cottage in the Wood, Whinlatter, near Keswick, with her love of the job blossoming.
“I worked there for a year and a bit and after that I moved down south,” she said.
Katherine, whose previous roles also include pastry commis chef at Northcote Manor, Lancashire, adds that what she really likes about her work is “learning new things and being challenged”.
“This career really provides that, you always feel like you are learning, whether it is new skills in the kitchen, where there is always more to learn. And when you come to these different kitchens there are always people who know so much more than you who you can learn from and not just kitchen skills but skills like management and all within a practical context.
“That is what I like most about it, that there is always basically so much more to learn. And it can be very challenging but rewarding in that way.”
Being involved in the Roux competition has also been a thrill for Katherine, in the way that it allows her to test herself in a different sort of environment and try new things.
“The competition is good for that as it gets you to do something you would not normally do. It allows for the development of new ideas. Maintaining the quality is a big thing, every plate has to be perfect.”
Now faced with a major final, and up against other leading young chefs, she says no matter what the outcome, it is the journey that has been important.
“Whatever happens I am happy with it, because being involved in each stage of the competition has been useful in building my confidence and the skills I am learning at each level. The process of entering the competition has been very valuable no matter what happens.”
While Katherine’s love of cooking was nurtured at Kendal College, its origins go back to her family roots, and the fun of home baking in Eden.
“It was always something that I was into. I enjoyed baking from when I was very young. Mainly with mum and my grandma. It was very traditional home baking.”
The Roux Scholarship competition is judged by leading culinary figures including Michel Roux Jnr, Angela Hartnett (Great British Menu), Brian Turner (Ready, Steady, Cook) and James Martin (James Martin’s Saturday Morning. The remaining 18 competitors will compete in two regional finals which will be held simultaneously on Thursday 6th March 2025 at University College Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing. Katherine will compete in the London event with a chance to appear in the national final on Monday, 14th April.
