It was school meets Hell's Kitchen as top culinary students from around the country battled it out in Auckland yesterday.
Teams from 12 hospitality institutes competed in this year's fierce and sometimes fiery Nestle Toque d'Or competition, held at the Vodafone Events Centre in South Auckland.
Among those taking part this year were Tae Murray (front left) and Shannon Tuck (front right), who were a part of the team from the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology.
Students had to put out six covers of a three-course meal in just under three hours and were judged against international world chef standards.
The annual competition is highly regarded in hospitality circles and has been going for the past 24 years.
