The winners will go on to cook their dishes for 250 guests at The Savoy in September.
Sean Nolan from Hertford College created the winning starter – a warm salad of slow cooked turkey thigh with a turkey lollipop, beetroot and cranberry cream cheese. While Daniel Draper from Westminster Kingsway won the main course category with his stuffed turkey breast and turkey thigh baklava with sweet potato puree and sherry jus.
Judges commended the pair for showcasing turkey outside of the traditional Christmas associations. The dishes demonstrated skill, and scored highly on taste and presentation, as well as being suitable for serving at the British Turkey Awards banquet.
The competition, organised by British Turkey, asked catering students from 20 colleges across the country to devise a starter or main course using any cut of turkey. Twenty colleges from around the UK took part with 17 students involved in the cook-off which was held at University College Birmingham.
The judging panel included: Budiono Bin Sukim, banquet chef at The Savoy; Tony Robertson, consultant chef; Lee Maycock, vice chairman of Craft Guild of Chefs; Paul Kelly, chair of the British Turkey Federation and Tim Burnside from Aviagen who sponsor the industry award.
Paul Kelly, chair of the British Turkey Federation, said: “The judges were really impressed by the incredibly high standards and level of execution by the students. For some it was the first time they had entered a competition and you could see how hard they had worked because the results were outstanding. Each dish showed how versatile turkey is and how it can be used in fine-dining all year round.”
The winners will receive their trophies at the British Turkey Industry Awards which take place on Thursday 19th September at The Savoy.