44 everyone joining their Toque d’Or competition in 2020. To recognise and highlight the significant role played by front of house in the hospitality industry, Nestle opened the competition to students and apprentices specialising in service roles. Students and apprentices would be registered for the Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or competition individually, representing their college or business in either a front or back-of-house role. Between February and March, the 48 selected individual students were asked to compete in various heats held at 5 different events around the UK. The highest scoring 12 (6 front and 6 back of house) from the regional heats would then earn a place in the Nestle Toque d’Or Grand Finals which were due to take place in April 2020. However, in light of the situation surrounding Covid-19 and the advice from Public Health England, Nestle Professional confirmed that the Toque d’Or 2020 Grand Finals and Awards, be postponed until later this year. In early July, Nestlé Professional announced the launch of Toque d’Or Digital, a virtual platform designed to ensure that the prestigious competition can continue to inspire and support the next generation of hospitality professionals in the current climate. The competition has been adapted to provide the opportunity for finalists to develop their skills and further their careers in a post-Covid19 world. The educational challenges will take place between 10th–14th August 2020, via Zoom, and will see the finalists working both individually and in pairs to create a mix of pre-recorded and live sessions from their homes. The 24 front and back of house finalists will compete in a series of relevant and timely digital challenges which will aim to further their knowledge, and provide them with the tools needed to learn and adapt to the changes in the hospitality industry. These challenges will consist of a mix of practical, service-based and business-focused tasks, focusing on crucial areas such as social media, business management and sustainable food and drink. The theme of sustainable futures will be at the centre of each challenge, while testing the contestants in new areas, techniques and working environments. Katya Simmons, Managing Director of Nestle Professional® UK & Ireland, comments:
“When we postponed the finals back in March, our focus was to ensure that the rescheduled final would meet the demands of the situation we found ourselves in, but also that it would provide a new level of challenge and range of skills for our finalists to test themselves with. We are delighted with the innovation that our team has shown to construct a final fitting of the Toque d’Or name. We wish all of our competitors the best of luck and hope they enjoy the occasion that they have worked so hard to be a part of.” Adam Bateman, Group Operations and Development Chef at Intercontinental Hotels Group and Head of Judges for Toque d’Or 2020, commented:
“Our aim with the Toque d’Or competition has always been to challenge the contestants and provide them with a broad range of skills that can be used to further their careers in the hospitality sector. The rescheduling of the finals gave us the opportunity to push them, and the judging team, even further with a wider range of digital challenges at home, and we are excited to see how the finalists take on these tasks. On behalf of the judging team, I would like to say congratulations to our contestants for getting this far and we look forward to seeing how you embrace this new digital challenge.” A grant of £250 for catering equipment was given to those colleges whose students participated in the heats (one grant of £250 for each front of house and back of house student). There will be a further grant of £750 for each of the 10 Runner Up Grand Final colleges, (5 front of house and 5 back of house) and a grant of £2,000 for front of house winning college and £2,000 back of house winning college. As with the heats the grants are awarded for catering equipment to be purchased from Russums.