Zest Quest Asia 2023 announces call for submissions

Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala have opened submissions for the Zest Quest Asia 2023 competition.

It comes after the co-founders of the competition held a launch event for this year’s competition at Café Spice Namaste in the London Docklands in August.

Full-time catering students with permanent residency in the UK are eligible to apply until entries close on 16 December.

Each team consists of three students and their lecturer. Those who are announced as finalists (4 January 2023) will be invited to the live cook-off at Hilton London Heathrow Terminal 5 on 17 February 2023.

The winners will be rewarded with an educational to a secret Asian destination that will be revealed on the night. Past locations include Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The competition, which encourages students to strive for excellence in Asian cuisine, is now in its ninth year.

Last August, Zest Quest Asia was able to distribute cash grants of up to £500 to students via their colleges, including Loughborough College, the Colchester Institute, North Hertfordshire College and the Sheffield College.

To date, the competition has received its funding exclusively from sponsorships. This year’s gold sponsors are Hilton, Cobra, Tilda, Panasonic, Schwartz by McCormick Flavour Solutions, Mizkan and Meiko.

Cyrus Todiwala said: “Once again, we are expecting great things from college students from around the UK through their performance in Zest Quest Asia.”

Pervin Todiwala added: “Hundreds of students have entered Zest Quest Asia since we launched the competition in 2013. The winners have had experiences in different Asian countries that have brought them into direct contact with both the culture and cuisine they may not have discovered had they not competed in Zest Quest Asia. Their hearts and minds have been opened to new worlds.”

Zest Quest Asia was founded in 2013 by the Todiwala Foundation with the support of the Master Chefs of Great Britain.

More information on entering the competition will be available through Cora Strachan at cmsevents@btinternet.com.