Loughborough College triumphs in Zest Quest Asia 2025

Loughborough College has been crowned the winner of Asian cooking competition Zest Quest Asia 2025.

 

It is Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala’s 12th annual Zest Quest Asia competition, held to raise the profile of Asian cuisine and cookery as a future career for budding chefs.

 

The competition on 4 April concluded with a gala dinner and awards ceremony at the Hilton London Wembley hotel.

 

Eight shortlisted catering college teams completed a live cook-off at the University of West London. Loughborough’s team, comprising Cameron McGinty, Tom Brassington and Lewis McLeman, created a winning Korean menu including kimchi, gochujang bibimbap and doenjang dessert.

 

Their prize is a week’s trip to Hong Kong, where they will experience traditional street food and visit food markets as well as participating in interactive cooking sessions.

 

Loughborough Colleage lecturer Grace McGreal said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better team, the amount of work they put in is astonishing.”

 

2024 victor Sheffield College was runner up this year, winning a two-day gastronomic trip to Lyon, France.

 

Judges comprised the Craft Guild of Chefs’ Steve Munkley, competition organisers and restaurateurs Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala, Sarah Hartnett from the Smart Group, food and wine professional Clive Roberts and the Dorchester’s Mario Perera. They judged on a range of criteria including workmanship, presentation, taste and authenticity.

 

Munkley said: “The standard of cooking this year was the best ever. There were five teams within a couple of marks of each other, which really gave us a challenge in making a decision.”

 

Chef Tom Kerridge was the special guest at the awards. He told the competitors: “Well done for choosing one of the safest, most inspiring, creative industries – who knows where you’ll end up. I’ve been able to travel all over the world, and Asian cooking is recognised as some of the greatest. I hope this inspires you for the rest of your journey in hospitality.”

 

Cyrus Todiwala said: “Pervin and I are thrilled that this year, Zest Quest Asia attracted a record number of talented and ambitious challengers. The excitement and motivation to do well, in both the cook-offs and knowledge presentations, was plain to see and as organisers and judges, we were extremely proud to see that our new champions, Loughborough College, proved themselves truly worthy winners.”

 

This year, the Zest Quest Asia organisers introduced a financial support scheme for teams entering the contest. The grants of £1,000 were available for up to six colleges fulfilling the criteria and aimed to increase the number of smaller colleges that were able to enter.

 

The rest of the award winners on the night were:

 

Most Successful Lecturer Award: Nathan Vasanthan, University of West London

 

Murray Chapman Least Wastage Award: Loughborough College

 

Best Menu Planning: Loughborough College

 

Andrew Bennett Teamwork Award: Milton Keynes College

 

Best Menu Presentation Award: Sheffield College

 

Most Sustainable Menu: University of West London

 

Best Use of Panasonic Accelerated Combination Oven: Milton Keynes College

 

Best Use of Tilda Rice Award: Milton Keynes College

 

Best Use of Lee Kum Kee’s Premium Mushroom Seasoning Powder: University College Birmingham

 

Best Use of Lee Kum Kee’s Premium Oyster Sauce: New College Durham