Sheffield College takes Zest Quest Asia 2026 crown

A team from the Sheffield College was crowned the 2026 winners of Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala’s Zest Quest Asia competition.

 

The trio of students – Destiny Breeze, Amos Peck and Luke Swift – alongside chef lecturer Andy Gabbitas, won a week’s study trip to Hong Kong, provided by the Asian cooking competition’s headline sponsor, Lee Kum Kee.

 

Sheffield College achieved its third win in the student contest’s 13 year history with ‘a taste of Sichuan’ menu, comprising an amuse bouche of Sichuan pork dumplings, a starter of mushroom mapo tofu, mantou steamed bun; a main of jasmine tea smoked duck breast with a crispy jasmine rice cake, bok choi and a fermented chilli glaze; finishing with a dessert of chrysanthemum-infused osmanthus jelly, Sichuan pepper ice-cream and red bean tuille.

 

Eight finalist teams had to carry out a15 to 20-minute presentation to the competition’s judges on 9 April, followed by a live cook off on 10 April at University of West London. The students had two hours to produce a four-course meal for four covers. The winners were then announced during the Gala Evening and Awards Dinner at the Hilton London Wembley on 10 April.

 

Judges comprised competition founders and restaurateurs, Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala; Steve Munkley, vice president, Craft Guild of Chefs; Sarah Hartnett, executive pastry chef, the Smart Group; Mario Perera, executive chef, Jumeirah Carlton Tower; Nick Wort, retired head chef, House of Commons; David Boland, fellow of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts; Meredith Bevan, area general manager, the Hilton London Wembley; and Arran Schaffer, head pastry chef, the Hide, Mayfair.

 

Cyrus told the 300 gala dinner guests the entry standard was so high this year that for the first time, judges awarded a third place, which went to a team from North Hertfordshire College. They won a meal at the Todiwalas’ Café Spice Namaste in east London.

 

Runner-up spot went to the Milton Keynes College team, who were rewarded with a two-day food trip to Lyon, France.

 

Cyrus said: “The competition has grown; it’s become bigger and stronger. We hope that we can continue growing and invest money back into the next generation cooking Asian food.”

 

Earlier in the evening, winners for the rest of the categories were announced, comprising:

 

Best Menu Planning

Cheshire College

 

Andrew Bennett Teamwork Award

University of West London

 

Best Menu Presentation

North Hertfordshire College

 

Most Sustainable Menu

University College Birmingham

 

Best Use of Panasonic Accelerated Combination Oven

Coleg Llandrillo

 

Best Use of Tilda Rice
Oakland College

 

Best Use of Lee Kum Kee’s Mushroom Seasoning Powder
University of West London

 

Best Use of Lee Kum Kee’s Oyster Sauce
Coleg Llandrillo

 

Murray Chapman Least Wastage Award
Milton Keynes College

 

This year the competition attracted more than 40 entries, with a semi-final stage introduced for the first time to arrive at the eight finalists.

 

Zest Quest Asia has helped raise the popularity of Asian cuisine and cooking among full-time student chefs since it was first launched in 2013.