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.
The annual Toque d’Or competition gives youngsters in hospitality unique experiences designed to inspire them to move forwards in their careers. This year’s 35th-anniversary edition was no different, and competitors went head-to-head in a string of thrilling, sustainability-based challenges.
Battling it out in the Grand Finals
The winning pair beat ten other competitors in the Grand Finals in a string of thrilling, sustainability-based challenges. Over the week, finalists visited Brough Castle Farm, part of the First Milk co-operative of sustainable farms supplying Nestlé and competed in a coffee and confectionery challenge after visiting the KitKat® factory. The week ended in an exciting Fine Dining Challenge, where finalists wowed the judges with their skills at The Grand in York under the supervision of chef Tommy Banks.
The Ultimate Brazilian Foodie Trip
The winners got to enjoy being served for a change, dining at Michelin-starred restaurants in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, enjoying Brazilian gastronomy at Oro, Japanese cuisine at Imakay, and exclusive pork-only restaurant, Casa da Porco. They also explored Brazil’s top landmarks – by helicopter, boat and foot - including Christ the Redeemer, Copacabana, Guanabara Bay and the world’s biggest urban forest in Rio, Floresta da Tijuca.
Experiencing ‘Bean to cup’ Journeys
The trip also provided another opportunity to expand the winners understanding of regenerative practices in farming and hospitality, first experienced during the Grand Finals.
During an exclusive 'bean to cup' tour of a NESCAFÉ® Plan coffee farm, they learned how regenerative farming techniques are helping reverse the effects of climate change and improve crop yields for farmers. They also sampled different coffees and learned how to differentiate high quality coffee beans at the NESCAFÉ® Coffee Quality Lab.
The theme continued during a visit to a Nestlé Cocoa Plan cocoa farm, which is adopting regenerative farming techniques to improve long-term resilience as well as yields.
Coffee farmer, Luiza Bonobo says:
“Coffee’s flavour is influenced by the climate, how the soil was treated, and the quantity of nutrients within the soil.
“We’re going back to organic farming methods for our crops, which means the soil retains more water, bringing more nutrients and minerals to the plants. We plant a variety of trees in the farm, creating a better microclimate that does not stress the coffee trees. We control irrigation, using the ideal quantity of water for the time of the year and day. We also manage the soil to bring more nutrients to the plants and use biological products to prevent or control disease.”
Joshua Kerr, Front of House Winner said:
"The food here in Brazil is absolutely amazing. They've got such an international array of foods - from Michelin-starred Japanese restaurants to traditional Brazilian barbecues.
"I really enjoyed being at the cocoa farm in Espirito de Santo seeing the farmers harvesting the cocoa. I was so impressed by how Nestlé look after the sustainability aspects of the farm and the farmers as well."
Amber Clay, Back of House Winner said:
“Going to the coffee farm was really, really exciting. Learning about how Nestlé are supporting farmers to change the way coffee is farmed to make it more sustainable; increasing biodiversity so as not to create a monoculture.
“Equally, I was really surprised that they grow black pepper next to coffee. I'd never known about that. For me as a chef, it was really interesting to see all the pepper plants."
