EIT hospitality students are sharpening their knives as they prepare to do battle in a live kitchen and restaurant cook-off in Auckland today.
Culinary students Kayla Hughes and Sabrina Faes and front of house student Ashleigh Butler will vie against 33 other hospitality students nationwide in a bid to take out top honours in the annual Nestl Toque d'Or.
From Hastings, Kayla is a second-year Diploma in Professional Chef Practice student while Swiss-born Sabrina, from Waimarama, is in the first year of the programme.
From Napier, Ashleigh is studying the one-year Certificate in Front of House Operations (Advanced).
Competition organiser Anita Sarginson - national president of the New Zealand Chefs Association and operations manager for The Flying Burrito Brothers - says the students will be competing in an event that is highly-regarded by the hospitality industry.