Zest Quest Asia has served as the springboard for many budding culinary careers enriched by exposure to authentic Asian ingredients and cooking styles. With the ongoing dearth of Asian food courses on the curriculum, the competition has helped to fill a skills gap.

Students and their tutors are invited to express their interest to the organisers by Friday 1st November 2024, with the deadline for actual submissions set for Friday 6th December 2024.  

A new semi-final phase introduced this year will afford teams the opportunity to finesse their entries for the final round and is expected to include a video presentation. As in all previous years, the finals will consist of a live cook-off and presentation to be held in the kitchens of the University of West London.

The competition will uphold its tradition of awarding a trip of a lifetime to Asia to the Zest Quest Asia 2025 overall winners, the destination remaining a closely held secret until the Gala Dinner.

Current champions, The Sheffield College recently claimed their prize in India, sponsored by Tilda Foodservice, where amidst their many food experiences, the students were able to visit the Taj Mahal.

To encourage participation from colleges of all sizes, in the last few weeks, it was announced that for the first time funding support towards the preparation of their Zest Quest Asia 2025 entries would be made available. The funding is from the Savoy Educational Trust, The Antonio Carluccio Foundation and the Worshipful Company of Cooks of London.

Cyrus Todiwala commented: “I am extremely excited about Zest Quest Asia 2025. This year we have redesigned the competition to pave the way for more colleges to enter. Now colleges can qualify for the semi-finals phase, widening the scope for colleges to qualify for the finals.

“I have never felt more confident about the future of our competition and urge everyone to buy early-bird tickets for our Gala Dinner and Awards Night. Mark your calendars and prepare to share the joy of our brilliant student chefs.”