Toque d’Or® 2025 Winners Crowned

We’re excited to reveal the winners of the 2025 Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or are:

Back of House (BOH): Tom Brassington from Loughborough College

Front of House (FOH): Katie Blundell from Hugh Baird College

Tom and Katie finished on top following an action-packed Grand Finals week (11 – 15 May) comprising of a series of real-life industry challenges focused on sustainability and how hospitality pays an important role in supporting local communities.

Mentored and guided by a distinguished panel of judges, including Michelin-star chef Adam Handling MBE and his Front of House director George Hersey, our final 12 competitors showcased their skills, creativity and passion across five days of real-life challenges focused on sustainability.

Our fantastic winners will receive a once-in-a-lifetime prize of an extraordinary culinary trip to Italy, while their colleges receive an additional £1,000 from the Savoy Educational Trust.

Katya Simmons, managing director of Nestlé Professional UK&I

"Every year Toque d’Or raises the bar, and 2025 is no exception. Our final 12 showcased their talent and creativity but also a real understanding of the issues shaping the future of our industry, from sustainability to community impact.

We’re immensely proud to support the next generation of hospitality professionals, working hand-in-hand with industry partners to give students meaningful, real-life experience. Seeing their passion during

Finals Week in such a high-pressure environment has been truly inspiring. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s competition another success, and huge congratulations to our brilliant winners Tom and Katie.”

Sustainability Recognition

This year’s competition also saw the introduction of a brand-new recognition - the Green Spatula’ Award.

We at Nestlé Professional, in partnership with The World Association of Chefs’ Societies (Worldchefs), have set up this accolade to recognise the finalists showcasing exceptional commitment to sustainability and environmental practices.

Serin Hassan from Westminster Kingsway College scooped the special BOH prize for demonstrating the importance of sustainability in their ingredient choices and cooking methods, while Victoria Royer from Coleg Cambria took the FOH award for showcasing an exceptional understanding of sustainability’s role within the hospitality industry.

Grand Finals Week

Our winning competitors shone throughout the Grand Finals Week, where they learnt all about topics such as food provenance, regenerative agriculture and how hospitality plays an important role in supporting communities.

The week started with a trip to our partner farm in Suffolk. Finalists explored regenerative agriculture before heading to the neighbouring, picturesque Wyken Vineyards to learn how to create hand-stretched pizza with Pizza Pilgrims, and the wine making process for the FOH competitors. Each competitor put their learnings to the test by serving an irresistible lunch pairing of pizza and wine to community guests.

A key highlight of the week was a bespoke NHS culinary challenge held at London’s St Bartholomew’s Hospital, where finalists served a grab-and-go style lunch to frontline staff. They heard from Mel Crawford, associate director of Patient Catering & Food Service at St Bartholomew’s, who shared how vital food and drink is in contributing to patient and staff wellbeing, as well as the breadth of roles available in NHS catering.

Competitors also undertook a pub menu challenge with Greene King which saw BOH finalists create and cost a seasonal starter, main and dessert for a mock Chef & Brewer Autumn/Winter menu, and taste testing curries and brownies. The FOH competitors visited The Alchemist in London for a cocktail and mocktail masterclass, tapping into the latest mixology trends. Both groups heard from Only A Pavement Away, a charity which supports people struggling to work by finding them jobs within hospitality, such as those facing homelessness, prison leavers and veterans.

The week culminated with a private dinner at Adam Handling’s Michelin-starred Frog in Covent Garden and the prestigious Fine Dining Challenge, which took place at CORD by Le Cordon Bleu. Paired into six teams of two, the finalists created and served a three-course sustainable menu with matching English wines to the judges.

Adam Handling MBE, Michelin-star chef and Toque d’Or head judge

“It was such a privilege to be part of Toque d’Or this year. The energy, the drive, and the commitment these young people showed was seriously impressive.

Competitions like this are where careers are made and I have no doubt we’ll be seeing many of them doing amazing things in the years to come.”

Supporting our finalists

The judging panel, spearheaded by both Adam and George, featured Nestlé’s global executive chef Emmanuel Lorieux and UK development chef Paul Hawkins. Hospitality professional and 2023 Gold Service Scholar Jupiter Humphrey-Bishop joined George on the FOH panel alongside 2018 FOH Toque d’Or winner and wine expert, Antonia Macfarlane.

Last year’s champions Geraldine and Jasmine also gained invaluable mentoring experience, supporting this year’s cohort by sharing their ‘do’s and don’ts’.

Guest judges representing the competitions’ partners joined the panel for their respective challenges. The partners who provided incredible challenges and learning experiences for this year’s finalists and demonstrated the many aspects of the dynamic hospitality industry, included: