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Toque d’Or 2024 title

Toque d’Or®

The Hospitality Industry’s Most Prestigious Competition

Toque d’Or® hospitality competition 2024: The 36th Anniversary!

Nestlé Professional’s Toque d’Or® competition paves the way for the next generation of hospitality pioneers. The competition is an opportunity for ambitious students to showcase their creativity in front of a panel of industry leading experts.

In 2024, Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or® is celebrating 36 years of culinary excellence and innovation! Join us for the chance to sharpen your skills, explore new trends, and learn about regenerative farming for a more sustainable future.

Whether you are a back or front-of-house college student, you’ll have the chance to craft sustainably-sourced, pioneering menus at every stage of the competition, from farm to fork to bean to cup. We’ll finish our culinary celebration with the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Switzerland and where you can immerse yourself in a vibrant gastronomic scene and diverse culture. Join us this year to leave your mark on the industry.

Why enter the Toque d'Or® hospitality competition?

Person cooking and reaching for a pan
People outside taking notes in nature
People cooking in a kitchen

Toque d’Or® is so much more than a hospitality competition, it's...

  • A once-in-a lifetime opportunity to push the boundaries of the culinary world through a series of exciting challenges.
  • Your chance to gain both Back and Front of House experience from leading industry professionals, developing your skills and knowledge.
  • A unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the classroom and the exciting reality of the industry.
  • Entirely free to enter!

Find out how to enter the Toque d’Or® hospitality competition, including key deadlines and locations.

The history of Toque d'Or® food service

Launched for the first time in 1989, Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or® remains one of the UK’s most prestigious hospitality competitions. Aiming to inspire and educate ambitious college students in the food service industry, Toque d’Or® was born out of a passion for innovation in hospitality.

Since then, the competition has been providing industry-leading training for both Back and Front of House students alongside influential supporters and judges. The challenges differ from year to year, adapting to the latest trends to keep the experience fresh and relevant and allow competitors to develop skills to cover a range of styles. The competition emphasises teamwork and often uses role reversal to give participants a taste of each other’s responsibilities, and foster understanding between Back and Front of House. With a focus on providing up-to-the-minute industry expertise and experience, Toque d’Or® offers practical and business focused tasks to help participants learn the key skills they need to succeed while working alongside industry experts and businesses.

After 36 years, the Toque d’Or® competition still receives recognition for its influential training and focus on sustainability, and hospitality trends, as well as practical and soft skills.

Interested? Find the latest Toque d’Or® news for more insights and information here.

Roll of honor

Our roll of honour shows the select few students, colleges and apprentices that have won the prestigious Toque d'Or award since it began.

Students and Colleges

2023 FOH Joshua Kerr, City of Glasgow College

2023 BOH Amber Clay, University College Birmingham

2022 FOH Tara Humphrey, City of Glasgow College

2022 BOH Samantha Watkins, Loughborough College

2021 FOH Sophie Taylor, Edinburgh College

2021 BOH Sarah Morton, New City College London

2020 FOH Alex Dick, City of Glasgow College

2020 BOH Katherine Altham, Kendal College

2019 University College Birmingham

2018 City of Glasgow College

2017 University College Birmingham

2016 University College Birmingham

2015 Westminster Kingsway College

2014 City of Glasgow College

2013 South West College

2012 Westminster Kingsway College

2011 University College Birmingham

2010 University College Birmingham

2009 North Devon College

2008 Carlisle College

2007 Blackpool & The Fylde College

2006 South Trafford College

2005 Westminster Kingsway College

2004 Carlisle College

2003 Sheffield College

2002 Neath Port Talbot College

2001 Neath Port Talbot College

2000 Glenrothes College

1999 Southampton City College

1998 Glenrothes College

1997 Bournemouth & Poole College

1996 John Wheatley College

1995 Thanet College

1994 Motherwell College

1993 Colchester College

1992 Thanet College

1991 Brunel College of Technology

1990 Motherwell College

1989 Brighton College of Technology

 

Apprentices

2022 BOH James Shuttleworth, The Tower Hotel

2021 FOH Georgia Wheatley, University College Birmingham

2021 BOH Kenny Markham, Burnt Lemon/HIT Training

2020 FOH Chelsie Robinson, The Cross Keys Stow

2020 BOH Lily Stock, Boodles

2019 Drew Dawson, The Ned

2018 Mateusz Hnatowski, Restaurant
Associates

2017 Charlie Stockwell, Galvin la Chapelle

2016 Luka Seddon, CH&Co

Toque d'Or News

toque d or applicants sitting on grass

Apply Now for Toque d'Or 2024! 

Students invited to take their culinary journey to the next level 

*****Toque d’Or 2024 registrations now open***** 

TOQUE D’OR® WINNERS RETURN FROM ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME FOODIE TRIP IN BRAZIL

Just three weeks after being crowned champions of Toque d’Or, Joshua Kerr and Amber Clay headed to Brazil where they enjoyed the country’s finest restaurants and bars and followed ‘bean to cup’ journeys with Nestlé coffee and cocoa farms. 

 

Toque d’Or® 2023 Winners

The winners of the 35th-anniversary edition of Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or® have been chosen. 12 finalists made it through to the Grand Finals where they battled it out in a week of tough challenges. Two winners emerged…