Over 40 VIP guests attended a launch dinner at The Grove Restaurant to hear about exciting plans set to transform Bradford College. Hosted by former MasterChef finalist Exose Grant, the event showcased several of the College’s extensive construction projects, which will soon take shape. Projects include new £3.5m vocational T Level facilities, a £6.9m refurbishment of the derelict Garden Mills, and the construction of a new £17m Future Technologies Centre on Thornton Road. Christopher Malish, Bradford College Vice Principal Finance & Corporate Services, opened the dinner by saying, “These projects are a huge boost for the College but also a transformative investment in Bradford that supports the wider city centre development.…
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The Sheffield College has been announced as the worthy winners of Zest Quest Asia 2024 at its celebratory Gala Dinner & Awards Night held at the Hilton London Wembley hotel on Tuesday 27th February 2024. Guests included college, industry and media representatives who gathered to support Zest Quest Asia in its mission to secure homegrown chefs for the future, who are proficient in Asian cuisine. Six student teams from colleges across the UK competed for the coveted Zest Quest Asia crown. All teams performed to a high standard, displaying outstanding talent and skill in the execution of their Asian inspired menus, but alas, there could only be one winner. Following…
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The six finalists have just been announced for the 2024 Zest Quest Asia competition! Entries were plentiful and standards were high but after paper entries were scrupulously judged, six student teams have been chosen to compete at this year’s esteemed event. Going through to the final cook-off, to be held at the University of West London, on 27th February are Cheshire College South & West, Loughborough College, North Hertfordshire College, The Sheffield College, University College Birmingham and New College Durham. As a long-time sponsor, and taking the Headline spot this year, Tilda Foodservice is proud to be a dedicated advocate of Zest Quest Asia’s mission to inspire and champion young…
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Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL, chef patron of landmark Indian restaurant, Café Spice Namaste, and co-founder with Pervin Todiwala of Zest Quest Asia, has been busy encouraging friends and associates in industry and education to support the student finalists of Zest Quest Asia at the competition’s eleventh gala dinner and awards night in February next year. Since launching Zest Quest Asia 2024, interest has flowed in from colleges across the UK and, following an ‘Upskill Day’ run by Zest Quest Asia director Murray Chapman, for the second year running, a college from Scotland, Highland College, has fielded a team; a sure sign that the competition is gaining traction north of the…
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Tilda has just been announced as Zest Quest Asia’s headline sponsor for the 2024 competition. As seasoned supporters of Zest Quest Asia, providing gold sponsorship each year since the competition’s inception, Tilda is proud to be taking the headline sponsorship slot for the 2024 competition and in doing so, demonstrates a strong commitment to community and education. Founded by Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala, with the Master Chefs of Great Britain, Zest Quest Asia’s mission has always been to inspire ambitious student chefs to embrace the myriad cuisines of Asia. Now in its 11th year, the competition seeks out six finalist teams of UK based student chefs to compete at the…
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The longlist for this year’s Asian Curry Awards has been revealed, along with the announcement of the creation of an inaugural Pat Chapman Memorial Award, to honour its long-time chairman of judges, who died in July. A record number of nominees will now be whittled down by online public vote – before visiting judges determine the eventual winners – who will be honoured at a glitter awards ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House on 20th November, sponsored by Just Eat. Spice lovers can vote for their favourite Asian restaurants and takeaways via www.asiancurryawards.com. With restaurateurs facing a ‘quadruple whammy’ of rising food prices, increased energy costs, staff shortages and customers experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, Yawar Khan,…
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Asian & Oriental Chef Awards – Live cook off 21st February – Winners’ presentation House of Lords, 2nd March Nominations have opened for this year’s Asian & Oriental Chef Awards. Finalists will be invited to a live cook-off event, being held at Pillars Kitchen at the University of West London on Monday 21st February. Winners will be presented at a special dinner at the House of Lords on Monday 2nd March. Open to professional chefs across all Asian and Oriental cuisines, nominations are invited from members of the public, restaurant critics, food journalists, bloggers and restaurateurs. Organised by the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), which represents the UK’s 30,000 Asian and Oriental restaurants and takeaways, eight shortlisted chefs…
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Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala announce Zest Quest Asia – Panasonic Autumn Challenge Finalists Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala are proud to announce the three finalists who will go forward to the cook-offs of the Zest Quest Asia – Panasonic Autumn Challenge, the latest on-line spinoff of their popular student culinary competition, Zest Quest Asia. Alfie Joe Alsop of Cambridge Regional College, Matas Gestautas of New City College (Redbridge Campus) and Emily Simkins of North Hertfordshire College were picked from a field of over twenty students, each having submitted a recipe for an Asian-inspired dish that can be part-cooked in a Panasonic professional combination microwave oven. Both Alfie and Matas looked to…
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Marking the end of National Curry Week (4th – 10th October), the longlist for this year’s Asian Curry Awards, being held at London’s Grosvenor House on 21st November, has been revealed. A record number of nominees will now be whittled down by online public vote, before visiting judges determine the eventual winners. The event, organised by the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), which represents the nation’s 30,000 restaurant and takeaways, are the only accolades acknowledging the full panoply of Asian cuisines, is widely regarded as the sector’s most prestigious. The Asian Curry Awards cover all Asian and Oriental cuisines: Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Pakistani, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese. This…
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Winners of the prestigious Asian Restaurant Awards were revealed at a glittering awards ceremony at the Manchester Mercure Piccadilly, on Tuesday 31st August, hosted by BBC news anchor Samantha Simmonds. Top accolades went to: Asma Khan’s whose female-only kitchen of former home cooks at London’s Darjeeling Express, won Best Casual Dining Restaurant Rajesh Suri, owner of Grand Trunk Road, who led Tamarind to the first Indian restaurant in the UK to a Michelin Star, won Best Asian Restaurant (London). Grand Trunk Road’s and Tamarin’s former head chef Dayashankar Sharma received the Best Newcomer award for his Heritage Dulwich debutant. “India’s answer to Heston Blumenthal”, Stephen Gomes, collected the award for Best Fusion Restaurant for DUSK in Brentwood, Essex for…
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The shortlist for this year’s Asian Restaurant Awards, being held in Manchester at the end of August, has been announced. These national awards are open to restaurants of all Asian and Oriental cuisines. Over 100,000 online votes from members of the spice loving community determined the finalists. Judges from the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), which hosts the event, are now visiting the candidates to determine the overall category winners. The full list of shortlisted venues can be seen bellow and it’s pretty long! So more of a long list then. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner and presentation ceremony organised at the Mercure Piccadilly on Tuesday 31st August. The Asian Restaurant…
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Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala launch Zest Quest Asia – Panasonic Autumn Challenge Virtual student culinary competition spotlights use of technology Restaurateurs Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala are pleased to announce the launch of the Zest Quest Asia – Panasonic Autumn Challenge, the latest on-line spinoff of the prestigious culinary competition for students wishing to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in Asian cuisine. The Zest Quest Asia – Panasonic Autumn Challenge aims to push the usual boundaries by placing technology as its centrepiece. Students, working individually with the support of their college tutor, will be invited to design and create a dish inspired by authentic Asian tastes, textures and flavours while drawing…
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