A total of 36 student catering teams from across the country competed in the regional heats, leaving just six teams left - City of Glasgow College, Gloucestershire College, Sheffield City College, University College Birmingham, University of Derby Buxton and York College.
Amongst the industry names are Graham Hornigold, executive pastry chef for the Hakkasan Group, David Atkinson, executive chef at Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey, Andy Stacey, former chef at Relais & Châteaux Hotels and Andrej Prokes, chef consultant for Nestle Professional and former executive sous chef at The Ritz London and The Fat Duck in Bray.
Hornigold said: “In a climate where you can’t move for talk of the skills shortage, there is no doubt that competitions like Toque d’Or are hugely valuable to the Industry. Not only do they encourage and inspire students at the very start of their journey, but they help to hone the skills of the new generation of hospitality talent coming up through the ranks.”
“The young chefs do need to accept from day one that this job isn’t going to be a picnic; it’s hard work in a professional kitchen. This is what’s so unique about the competition – it forces students to consider the bigger picture; not only the cooking but all the ancillary elements like ordering, budgeting and time management.“
Competition at the grand finals, a four day programme of learning and development actitivites, is set to be fierce.