Over 200 chefs, foodservice personnel, caterers and baristas from higher education institutes across the UK took part in a competition that included a barista skills challenge, a chefs’ challenge, a foodservice skills competition, a salon culinaire and training workshops.
Julie Barker, chair of TUCO Ltd, said: “The TUCO Skills Competitions is the ideal platform for professionals to showcase the fantastic talent within this industry.
“The higher education catering sector can be overlooked in terms of style, skill and expertise, but every year this show-stopping event continues to prove that there’s no shortage of talent within this sector and that’s something that I’m truly proud of.
“It was such a delight to welcome such an outstanding selection of professionals from all over the UK and we were lucky enough to witness a huge range of talent showcased over the event.
“The judges have expressed how impressed they were by the competitors this year and said that it was no easy task choosing the winners.”
Winners of the awards were announced as:
- TUCO Street Food Chef of the Year: James Tudor, Keele University
- TUCO Service Skills Challenge: Terri Sindler, Royal Holloway University of London
- TUCO Barista Skills Challenge: Pariwartan Napal, Imperial College London
- TUCO Bar Competition: Natasha Vahey, University of Birmingham
- TUCO Salon Culinaire; Robert Stordy, University of Derby
- TUCO Student Experience of the Year: Royal Holloway
- TUCO Sustainability initiative of the Year: University of Reading
- TUCO Chefs’ Challenge: University of Reading