Our Hospitality and Catering learners are always busy travelling up and down the country to go to exciting competitions and events. This academic year was no different! Here’s a roundup of what our talented learners got up to.
First up, was Zest Quest Asia 2025. The competition is a celebration of Asian cuisine, with student chefs from across the country creating menus reflecting the diversity of flavours and cooking techniques. Zest Quest asks learners to present their menu to established chefs and hospitality sector figures as well as cooking under pressure, helping learners build confidence in their abilities.
In December, two teams of NHC Catering learners made it to the preliminary rounds, which saw them produce a detailed video of their chosen dishes and the inspiration behind them.
Freddie, Luke and Kajus were successful and made it to the finals! In April, they travelled to the Hilton Hotel in Wembley for the competition. Each student had to replicate their original chosen dish, going up against student-chefs from across the country.
The high-pressure competition helped our students to refine their technique while responding to a professional brief, gaining confidence in their skillset and experience working in an industry-environment.
In January, representatives from the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), and Lincolnshire Game visited our Cookery students to deliver a game demonstration. Our budding chefs then had to create their own canape using partridge.
Cookery learner, Tom, wowed our guests with his delicious original canape recipe, and made it to the finals of the BASC Game On competition. In March, Tom represented North Hertfordshire College at the competition held at Westminster College in London, impressing the judges with his game gyozas.
Next up was the fantastic Nestle Toque D’Or competition. Our front of house Hospitality students were asked to create a coffee drink and produce a video presentation of the inspiration behind their choices. Our Catering learners cooked a dish using one of three component ingredients provided by the competition’s organisers, and then produced a video explaining why they wanted to showcase their skills at Nestle Toque D’Or 2025.
Five of our learners made it to the regional finals in York, and in March, Hospitality learners: Katie, Maddie, Skye and Erin, as well as Catering learner, Freddie, made the trip.
We’re super proud to announce that Erin and Freddie made it to the Grand Finals! In May, they were busy taking part in a week-long competition across Suffolk and London. They got stuck into a variety of competitive tasks, before a fine-dining challenge judged by Chef and owner of Michelin-Starred Frog and Eve Bar in Covent Garden, Adam Handling. Our learners had a fantastic time competing in this prestigious event and have been motivated to develop even further as their studies continue.
In April, twelve Catering students visited the Pizza Si headquarters in Slough to spend the morning exploring the wonderful world of pizza. After learning about different doughs, flavour combinations and concepts, our learners received a brief asking them to create two unique street-food-style pizzas.
Adam and Emily wowed the Pizza Si team and were invited to take part in the Pizza Si Silver Slicer Grand Final in June. The team visited Watford Football Club’s Vicarage Road Stadium to compete against many talented students from across the country. Adam and Emily recreated their unique pizzas and impressed the expert-judges with their flavour combinations.
Deputy Head of Hospitality and Catering, Stuart, commented:
“Competitions are some of my favourite events of the year, it’s fantastic to watch our learners’ knowledge, skills and experience sky-rocket from the entry stage to the finals. You can see them applying every aspect of the feedback they receive to their work in the kitchen, helping to boost their skillset and find their specialism. It makes a great addition to their CVs, too!”
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