Sheffield College crowned Zest Quest Asia champion 2022

Sheffield College has been crowned Zest Quest Asia champion 2022.

The results of the competition were announced at Heathrow Airport Terminal (Hilton T5) earlier this month, following a live cook-off and in-person awards evening, the first since the pandemic.

Sheffield College students Jack Hayes, Max Heath and Rhiannon Siddal, along with their tutor, Andrew Gabbitas, catering lecturer at Sheffield College, impressed the judges with their Vietnamese-inspired menu.

The winning selection comprised a ‘Bahn Khot’ starter, crispy pancake made with toasted jasmine rice, basmati rice flour, turmeric, puffed wild rice, seasoned with Sriracha; a ‘Bun Cha’ main course, caramelised Seiten balls with basmati rice noodles, pickled vegetables, and a dessert of ‘Vietnamese Vanilla Sponge’, soaked in rum syrup with Vietnamese coffee ice cream and rum-macerated pineapple.

The team and their mentor have earned an educational trip to Manila and the province of Negros Occidental (popularly known as ‘Sugarlandia’) in the Philippines, sponsored by Don Papa Rum.

They will also have the chance to experience culinary master classes, a charity dinner, and a visit to the distillery in southern Philippines where Don Papa Rum is produced from local sugarcane.

In addition to being crowned Zest Quest Asia champions, the Sheffield College team also won the Tilda Special Award for the Best Use of Rice, which will treat them to another exclusive trip to Northern Italy.

Other awards and prizes announced during the evening were:

• The Andrew Bennett MBE Award for Best Teamwork – Loughborough College
• Best Use of Microwave – Colchester Institute
• Best Wine Pairing – North Hertfordshire College
• Best Use of Rum – Westminster Kingsway College
• Best Use of British Produce – North Hertfordshire College
• Best Use of Spices – University College Birmingham
• Best Menu Compilation, Balance and Planning – Colchester Institute
• Worshipful Company of Cooks Food Waste Award – Colchester Institute

Cyrus Todiwala, founder of Zest Quest Asia, said: “I am so proud of the fact that our Zest Quest Asia competitors were performing like true professionals, with the attitude and mindset of winners. Their menus were exceptional, and the judges and I were taken aback by the scale of their ambition, with one college even offering a menu tracing the length of the Silk Road.

“But despite the tightness of the competition, there could only be one overall winner, and Sheffield College inspired our imaginations and taste buds with a brilliantly executed menu that captured the cooking techniques and tastes of Vietnam.”

Joanna Kennedy, marketing manager of the Bleeding Heart Rum Company, creators of Don Papa Rum, said: “Zest Quest Asia was a spectacular event to be part of. Not only did the students blow us away with their craftsmanship and ingenuity, but they explored daring flavour combinations we had never seen before. It was phenomenal to introduce and cultivate Asian cuisines amongst these young, budding chefs.”

Since 2013, Zest Quest Asia, founded by restaurateurs Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala with the involvement of the Master Chefs of Great Britain, has been on a mission to raise the profile of Asian cuisine among budding chefs.

Image Credit: Stratemarco