Sheffield College wins Zest Quest Asia

Three Sheffield College student chefs were crowned Zest Quest Asia 2022 champions recently for their Vietnamese-inspired menu. Jack Hayes, Max Heath and Rhiannon Siddal, along with their tutor, Andrew Gabbitas, received the news at a gala dinner and awards night held at the Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5.

They have won an educational trip of a lifetime to Manila and the province of Negros Occidental (popularly known as ‘Sugarlandia’) in the Philippines. The prize, sponsored by Don Papa Rum, will enable the team to discover first-hand the sights, smells and tastes of traditional Filipino cuisine, and participate in a range of activities including culinary masterclasses and a charity dinner.

Zest Quest Asia was founded by restaurateurs Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala, with the support of the Master Chefs of Great Britain, in 2013. This year marked the long-awaited return of the live cook-off and ‘in person’ awards evening after a pandemic-induced two-year gap, which the organisers filled with three successful on-line spinoffs.

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

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