Zest Quest Asia winners big in Japan

The winning team of the 2017 Zest Quest Asia competition has just returned from their culinary tour of Japan, hosted by Panasonic.

The winning menu, created by Hugo Montgomery, Peter Price and Alexander McLaren, with lecturer mentor, Lewis Walker, earned the team from University College Birmingham the prize trip, which included a stay at the Tokyo Hilton with lessons in the art of preparing teppanyaki, sushi and kaiseki with the hotel's head chefs, and an early morning visit to the Tsukiji fish market and tuna auction.

A ride on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Osaka followed, and a visit to Kobe, where they a visited a beef farm, followed by a Wagyu beef dinner and a tour of Panasonic's technology centre and a trip to Kyoto.

Iain Phillips, sales and marketing manager, Panasonic UK, added: “Zest Quest Asia’s aims mirror those of Panasonic, particularly in terms of creating value, contributing to society and supporting young people and it was very interesting to hear from these student chefs, first hand, of their aims and ambitions. During our visit to the factory they became involved in a discussion about an item of equipment that is in development and they have already made a difference as their comments were noted and talked about at a meeting later that day. This is exactly what our involvement in this competition is all about.”

The 2018 Zest Quest Asia competition is being launched by Cyrus Todiwala and Lewis Walker at the PACE Conference on 3 May at the Hilton hotel, Liverpool.

University College Birmingham team wins Zest Quest Asia 2017 >>

Zest Quest Asia 2017 finalists announced >>