Cookery students in Toque d'Or

Now, all Sammie Dale, Hollie Buss and Ross Powell have to do is wow 30 judges and convince them they deserve a place into the grand final at the BBC Summer Good Food Show.

Sammie, Hollie and Ross, along with three other students from Sussex Downs College had just three hours to cook and serve a three course meal for 30 judges this Thursday (March 12) for the Toque d'Or competition.

They were in a contest to be mentored by a Michelin-starred chef at the grand final at the BBC Good Summer Food Show in Birmingham and serve 100 paying customers.

The Nestle Toque d'Or is a national competition that links education with the catering industry and is the first time that Sussex Downs College has been in the semi-final. They will be up against 15 other catering colleges nation-wide.

The students will be turning the college's working bistro at the Eastbourne campus into Sussex Provenance, emphasising the link with locally produced food.

Said 19-year old Sammie: "Myself and Hollie will be serving the food as our job is being the front of house. We're confident that we'll perform well on the day. When we found out, we had only three weeks to turn our paper concept into a reality. We have been practicing very hard. I know that the chefs are a bit worried, but you can't expect more than 100%.

It's the first time that the college has made it though to the semi-finals. I'm really excited.

"It is tricky though, we have to do the whole thing by ourselves - our lecturers have to be out of the building."

As it is the 21st birthday of Nestle Toque d'Or, the grand final prize has not been revealed, however, previous teams have travelled to France, Switzerland and America.

Hollie commented: "We've had some dry-runs over the past two weeks which has been a learning curve. The college has been very supporting, and everyone has been helping out. I feel so proud that we have made it this far and would like to thank everyone who has helped, including our lecturers."

Ross is a former Bexhill High student who is currently studying for his head chef diploma.