Earlier this year, Jessica was cleaning the machine when it snatched in her tea towel and took both her hands with it, deforming eight fingers from the knuckles down.

Despite her injuries, the 21-year-old apprentice pastry chef was recently awarded the Steve Hornery Award - an inaugural, $5000 prize - for soldiering through TAFE's National Worldskills competition with impressive results.

Jessica entered the competition - an annual contest of practical skills open to all the TAFE trades - less than four weeks after her accident and only 10 days after she regained movement in her fingers.

Her injuries included damaged nerves. She required surgery on six fingers, countless stitches, a skin graft and thrice-weekly physiotherapy.

"The doctor didn't want me to compete, but because I trained for a year for it I really wanted to do it," said Jessica, a retail baking student from TAFE Illawarra who lives in Woonona.

"I didn't think the pain would be as bad. On my first day of competition my fingers just couldn't take it - they were turning blue and swelling up.

"By the end of the day I just broke down."

Jessica, an apprentice at Cavallaro's Pasticceria in Liverpool, told competition judges she was unable to complete all sections of the three-day event, but she stuck out the sections she could manage.

Her creations included a lotus flower made entirely of chocolate, a decadent gingerbread showpiece and a tropical-flavoured gateau.

Her award is named after a 28-year stalwart of the WorldSkills competition and recognises depth of character among NSW competitors.

Jessica is aiming to go to Germany - where she hopes to learn the secrets of fine chocolate - and Paris, for pastry tutelage.

"I want to be famous one day - run a five-star hotel kitchen or something like that," Jessica said.