Bianca-Tia Mesuria was announced as the winner of the 2019 Julia Child Scholarship in an extremely competitive final. Le Cordon Bleu alumna and baking legend Mary Berry announced the winner to the leading chefs and industry professionals at a stunning Champagne reception, which also featured some of Le Cordon Bleu's successful alumni.

Sixteen finalists competed for a prize worth over £45,000, which includes enrolment in the Dipôme de Pâtisserie with Culinary Management at Le Cordon Bleu London as part of this year's Julia Child Scholarship prize. Following a demonstration of a pastry dish by Le Cordon Bleu Head Pastry Chef Julie Walsh, each participant entered the kitchen to not just replicate the dish they were shown, but display creativity in their interpretation.

The day culiminated in the evening with an awards ceremony which saw Le Cordon Bleu alumna Mary Berry announce the winner as Bianca-Tia Mesuria. A Construction Community Manager from Hackney, Bianca-Tia now has just a few months to prepare for the start of the life changing prize which begins in January 2020.

It all feels like I am dreaming. When Mary Berry announced my name I just felt it echo in my head for a moment before it really sank in, and I still can't really believe it!

Le Cordon Bleu Alumna Mary Berry gave an inspiring speech for not just the 16 finalists, but for all the attendees. Reminiscing about how her career first began in Le Cordon Bleu years before and having the privilege of meeting one of her idols; none-other-than Julia Child. She said:

It is a joy to be here this evening to present the Julia Child Scholarship Award. Seeing the passion all the candidates have for food is wonderful, and I truly hope this is the start of an exciting career for each of them. Bianca-Tia Mesuria is a worthy winner, and starting her journey with Le Cordon Bleu, I am sure she is set for success!

With a plethora of Diplomas and Short Courses on offer, Le Cordon Bleu London has carefully compiled this year’s Scholarship Award together with our esteemed partners.

The uniqueness of this prize is the holistic view it offers the winner when it comes to education but also hands on industry experience. Le Cordon Bleu London have partnered with some of their hugely successful alumni (including Luiz Hara; Georgia Green; Dhruv Mittal and Evelina Ogorzalek) who, having taken the brave steps to change their own career paths, will now offer one-to-one mentorship of Bianca-Tia to share their own learnings and experiences in building thriving food businesses.

Culinary Arts Director at Le Cordon Bleu London, Chef Emil Minev added his thoughts:

We are always staggered at the quality (and quantity!) of entries for the Julia Child Scholarship, and this year was no exception. The uniqueness of this prize is that it provides a 360 view of the industry, highlighting the infinite possibilities of having a career in the food world.

The standard of entries for 2019 was impressively high, and so second place and third place runners-up were announced as Kirsty Massa from Sandwich, Kent and Elizabeth Melia from Liverpool. Both received high-performance kitchen knives from Zwilling.

If you are interested in applying for a course at Le Cordon Bleu London, please visit our programmes page.

Julia Child Scholarship Final & Award Ceremony 2019