National Front-of-House champion and Farndale farmer Jasmine dreams of opening her own bakery

The 18-year-old Farndale farmer, who also looks after sheep on North Yorkshire Moors land owned by her granddad, completed her Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Professional Cookery this summer and saw her customer service talent recognised nationally.

Jasmine (pictured third from the right in the main image with York College tutor Suzanne Barwick second from right) was crowned the 2024 Nestle Professional Toque D’Or Front-of-House competition winner following a week-long Grand Final, which involved a series of judged exercises at the likes of the Savoy Hotel and Starbucks’ UK headquarters in Chiswick.

She also feels, however, that her studies at Sim Balk Lane have given her the confidence to combine her agricultural work and waitressing job at local pub the Feversham Arms Inn with launching a catering company.

On how her two-year course has made her just as comfortable behind the hob as in front of diners, Jasmine said: “The course definitely gave me an appreciation that, when I’m serving at work, things don’t just take two seconds to make! 

“You definitely learn that when you start cooking. It’s also safe to say that I have taken the skills I learned at College back home with me, because my dad hasn’t got any thinner but he’s not moaning too much because he gets to eat cake all the time! 

“I also made my Granddad’s birthday cake and a friend’s birthday cake recently and I’m going to keep baking. I was thinking about doing a course in Animal Management or something to do with Equine next, but I’ve probably left it a bit late this year. 

“I’ve still got the farm to think about and I’m still working at the pub but I’m trying to slowly build up a bit of a bakery company. That’s the hope. 

“I probably need a proper kitchen first, but I like doing nice Victoria Sponges – what I’d call proper cakes.”

Jasmine, who has been waitressing since the age of 13, was encouraged to apply for the Toque D’Or competition, which is open to College students across the UK, by our Front-of-House tutor Suzanne Barwick.

She had to compete in a regional heat first at York’s five-star, luxury hotel and spa The Grand, where she was assigned a table of two customers.

Jasmine was also paired with a chef, who was competing in the Back-of-House element of the competition, with both judged on how three courses were presented and served, along with wine and coffee.

Recalling that experience, Jasmine said: “It was the first time I’d done a competition, so I was nervous – more than I was in the national final – but it was really good. 

“I actually felt really well prepared for it because of the big services we do at College. Only dealing with two people seemed a lot easier in comparison.”

After impressing the judges at The Grand, Jasmine travelled down to London to contest the national final.

The first day was an Agricultural Challenge, which she naturally relished given her background.

Assigned to make a mocktail made from garden ingredients, she opted for a rhubarb-inspired drink.

On Day Two, she was then tasked to come up with another new drink – this time for Starbucks, which she was just as enthusiastic about. 

“I was very excited about it because I love coffee,” Jasmine explained. "I was paired with a chef again and they just let us loose in their kitchen so there was so much freedom, but we didn’t go too mad.

“Ours was a kind of caramel, mocha, iced cappuccino. We didn’t give it a proper name, but it tasted very good!”

The competition then moved on to the world-famous Savoy Hotel, where Jasmine participated in a Cocktail Masterclass and a Fine Dining Challenge.

On the thrill of being announced the overall winner, Jasmine admitted: “I didn’t quite believe it. Without saying their name, I had thought that somebody else would win so, when it was announced, I thought: ‘Oh, me’, so I was very pleased.

“Spending the whole week in London was fab, too, because I’ve never stayed in a hotel down there.” 

Jasmine, unfortunately, missed out on the winner’s prize of a trip to Switzerland due to family reasons.

She remains grateful to College, though, for enhancing her front-of-house skills – first nurtured with regulars at the Feversham Arms - to a nationally acclaimed standard. 

“I really enjoyed how we did events like Afternoon Teas,” Jamine explained about her time working in our training restaurant The Cookery, previously known as Ashfields. “That was really, really fun and different. 

“It made me learn more about Fine Dining. I work in a small country pub, which is really lovely, but a lot less formal so, when I did Afternoon Teas, we’d learn about how everything should be set up properly.

“I also really like customer service. I can talk for England, as my mum would say, and enjoy having conversations with people.”

Jasmine is also a good listener and was all ears when elder sister Hannah described how studying a vocational course at York College proved a better option for her than A Levels.

Her brother Joseph is a former student too and, like her siblings, Jasmine decided that the three-hour round commute to College and back was worth it to study a subject that would encourage her love of baking. 

“Both my sister and brother thought the college was really good,” Jasmine explained. “Some buildings can look and feel awful when you go in them, but this is such a nice place and I made some really good friends from day one. That really helped me settle in and I had a great time.”

Jasmine, who was recently invited to be on the panel of judges for the NHS Chef 2024 Challenge competition, added that College’s industry-standard kitchen and the quality of tuition in the Hospitality department are both top class.

“We all love our teachers in Hospitality, don’t we?” Jasmine smiled. “Me and Suzanne got on very, very well and they’re all really good.

“I learnt a lot from them and I never got bored when they were talking. The equipment we have in the kitchens is amazing, too.

“We had Robot Coupes and I had never come across or used them before. It made you feel like you could do anything you wanted. So, for example, if I was doing a chocolate dessert, I could literally do anything with chocolate whereas, if I was in my kitchen at home, I’d literally just have a bowl.”

Jasmine intends to make more three-hour round trips, meanwhile, in the coming months as she checks out our newly-branded The Cookery restaurant for the first times as a customer, safe in the knowledge that she will be served some of the tastiest, best-value food in York.

“I know it has changed a little bit and I’m a bit nosey, so I want to see what’s going on,” she laughed.

To learn more about our Professional Cookery course, please click here

For a full list of themed events in The Cookery restaurant during 2024/25, visit here

Further details about all our Hospitality courses can be found here

Our next Open Event is on Thursday 7th November when tutors will be on hand to discuss our Hospitality courses. You can reserve a place here