University College Birmingham wins Nestle Toque d'Or contest

19th July 2010, 8:48am

The University College Birmingham has won the Nestlé Toque d'Or competition at the 2010 awards ceremony held at the Dorchester, Park Lane, London.

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."

Related Articles:

• 08 Jul 2011 - University College Birmingham takes 2011 Nestlé Toque d'Or trophy
• 22 Feb 2011 - “Toque” marks for five colleges through to the Nestlé Toque d'Or 2011 grand finals
• 03 Sep 2010 - Food Partners Group in student promotion to celebrate URBAN Eat launch
• 25 Aug 2010 - The European Safety Bureau recruits new senior consultant
• 13 Apr 2010 - Chef Mentors for Toque d’Or announced
• 10 Jul 2009 - North Devon College wins Nestle Toque D'or
• 09 Apr 2009 - The chosen five for Nestle Toque D'or
• 05 Mar 2008 - Five Toque D'Or finalists announced
• 01 Feb 2008 - Students to compete in Nestle Toque final

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