The heat is on at Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or 2015

The Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or 2015 kicks off to a record breaking start with 36 college teams through to the regional heats.

The first round paper entry focused on questions drawn from the college syllabus and the highly topical subject of sustainability.

Neil Stephens, managing director of Nestlé Professional UK and Eire explained that 2015 has seen an unprecedented number of colleges wanting to compete in the Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or, with 140 teams from 75 colleges registered to enter.

Neil said: “Our partnership with PACE is a winning formula, the incredible number of entries seen this year pays testament to the value that colleges now place on competing within Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or.

“We’re seeing a growing movement by employers in their awareness of the advantages of recruiting a ‘Toque’ candidate and many of our past students have gone on to work with the finest establishments in the UK, whether as a chef, or in a front of house role.

“Nestle Professional Toque d’Or enjoys a reputation for dramatically accelerating students’ career paths for those who participate, with past contestants working with the Fat Duck, Whatley Manor, Mosimanns, The Lanesborough and L’Ortolan, to name but a few.”

Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or is part of Nestlé’s broader worldwide commitment to supporting youth skills, training and development.

The student teams will now move onto the first practical round of the competition, where they’ll be supported by the likes of Craft Guild of Chefs, Loch Fyne, Ch&Co all sharing their industry knowledge with the students and testing them on what they have learned.

The regional heats will take place in February, where each team will be competing for one of the six places at the grand finals in March.

The heat teams are:

Belfast Metropolitan College

Blackpool and The Fylde College

Bradford College

Buxton and Leek College

City of Bristol College

City College Norwich

City of Glasgow College

Coleg Llandrillo (3 teams)

Croydon College

Doncaster College

Forth Valley College

Henley College Coventry (2 teams)

Highbury College

Hull College

Kendal College

Kirklees College

New College Nottingham (4 teams)

Northampton College

North West Regional College

Salford City College

Sheffield City College (2 teams)

Southern Regional College

Southern Regional College, Newry

South Thames College (2 teams)

University College Birmingham

University of Derby, Buxton

Westminster Kingsway College

York College