It may have taken blood, sweat and tears, but it was worth it.

For the first time in almost 30 years, the winner of the Roux Scholarship - the toughest culinary competition for young chefs in the UK, and ranked among the most prestigious in the world - has been won by a Scot.

After creating a technically complicated dish of Turban of Sole and Salmon a la Mariniere from a "mystery" Escoffier-inspired recipe in the competition final, Ian Scaramuzza, from Maryhill, Glasgow, has been crowned the Roux Scholar 2015 at a glittering awards ceremony in London. The final was described by the judging panel, jointly chaired by Michel and Albert Roux, as the most high-calibre in the competition's history,

Currently head chef at Claude Bosi's two-Michelin star Hibiscus restaurant in London, the 29 year old Glaswegian - whose mother is a dinner lady - beat off stiff competition from five other finalists, all also working in top UK restaurants.

His prize includes a cheque for £6,000 and a three-month stage working under a leading chef at a three-star restaurant anywhere in the world. Scaramuzza has already chosen to work at Benu in San Francisco under Corey Lee, the South Korean chef who trained under Thomas Keller at the French Laundry and Per Se in California.

But first he plans to marry his fiancée Anne Marie Howley, from Motherwell, who is office co-ordinator at the Bluebird restaurant in Chelsea. The ceremony will take place in September at Rosslea Hall hotel, Helensburgh.

After leaving Cleveden Secondary school in the city's west end Scaramuzza started his cooking career at age 18 at House for an Art Lover, moving to Etain under Geoffrey Smeddle before being taken on as commis chef by Andrew Fairlie at his two-Michelin star restaurant at Gleneagles, where he become sous chef within a year. He moved to work with Bosi in 2012.

Fairlie, who has previously lamented the lack of Scottish applicants for the Roux Scholarship, said he was "over the moon" that his protégé had won. "The level of cooking and standard of chefs in this competition has improved incrementally year on year and I always knew Ian had it in him to win."

The judging panel also comprised Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr, and top chefs Angela Hartnett, James Martin, Gary Rhodes, David Nicholls, Brian Turner and Andrew Fairlie, who was the very first Roux Scholar when the competition was launched in 1986.

Commenting on Scaramuzza's win, Michel Roux Jr said: "Ian's dish was straightforward, not too elaborate but the depth of flavour, perfect execution, taste and technique won the day. He used the truffle superbly, it shined, and balanced well with the sorrel which can be quite tart. It ticked all the boxes and all the judges enjoyed it."

Albert Roux has long been a supporter of Scottish chefs, and looks to recruit talent nurtured by the scholarship for his Chez Roux restaurants in Lochinver, Inverness, Gullane and Cromlix House, whose head chef Darin Campbell is a past Roux Scholarship finalist.

His son Michel Roux Jr added: "Ian is a good chef and manager. He is non-flappable, which his important in a kitchen. He will be a great inspiration for young and aspiring chefs in Glasgow and the rest of Scotland. Every Roux scholar has a responsibility to mentor and encourage the people they employ and in their entourage - that's the whole ethos of the competition."

Scaramuzza said: "I'm absolutely gobsmacked to have won. I enjoyed the competition. It was tough but I was quite happy, although a bit panicky at the start. The pressure got to me a bit. It was a good difficult dish, nothing I'd cooked or even seen before, a pure challenge."

Asked if he would return to Scotland to run his own restaurant, he replied: "It's always been my dream to have my own place and I would love to open in Glasgow or Edinburgh at some point. But for the moment I'm proud to be flying the flag for Scottish chefs everywhere."