University College Birmingham wins Nestle Toque d'Or contest

Beating off stiff competition from Petroc (North Devon), The College of West Anglia, Warrington Collegiate and York College, the team of six mentored by Andreas Antona of Simpsons prepared a meal of; slow cooked organic shetland salmon, asparagus mayonnaise, quail egg & avruga caviar followed by roast loin of Cornish lamb, green beans, feta & chickpea, radish, lovage jus with a dessert of caramel & chocolate parfait espresso ice cream. The quality and level of skill impressed head judge, James Tanner, who said: "The commitment and the sheer natural talent in this team was clear from the very beginning. All six students showed 100% passion and really rose to the challenge in conditions that can only be described as working in a real pressure cooker! They should all be extremely proud of what they have achieved, especially with such a high standard of entries this year." This year's winners will be guests of Nestlé Professional at the world famous Bocuse d'Or in January 2011 in Lyon. In addition to the grand finalist prize, the college will also receive £4,000 worth of catering equipment from the Savoy Education Trust. Neil Stephens, managing director at Nestlé Professional, added: "University College Birmingham has raised the competition benchmark yet again with the creativity, raw talent and enthusiasm its team has shown. "Each one of these students embodies everything the competition stands for and why we set up the competition in the first place – which was to help nurture tomorrow's talent. I am sure each and every one will go on to have very bright careers."