Inspired by the tastes, flavours and textures of Korean food, a trio of student chefs from Loughborough College bagged first place in the 2025 Zest Quest Asia culinary competition and with it, a week-long educational and cultural trip to Hong Kong, compliments of headline sponsors Lee Kum Kee. The team had impressed the judges with their three-course Korean bistro-style menu comprising  an amuse bouche of homemade kimchi, sea bream ceviche, oyster aioli and a nori seaweed cracker) followed by Ganjang (Korean BBQ mushrooms glazed in ganjang, Korean wheat noodles, soybean broth, pickled cucumber and tahoon oil), a Gochujang main course (Bibimbap – pork tenderloin, Gochujang fried rice, poached egg and raw Korean sala), finishing with a dessert of Doenjang (Doenjang and tangerine mousse, Doenjang Korean sponge, persimmon and Asia pear fruit salad, tangerine leaf powder and a Dalgona cookie).

In fact, by the time Tom Brassington, Lewis McLeman and Cameron McGinty were declared this year’s Zest Quest Asia champions at the end of a gala dinner and awards ceremony, held at Hilton London Wembley last Friday, 4^th April, the team had already been on stage twice.  With Tom, Lewis and Cameron receiving the Murray Chapman Least Wastage Award and the award for Best Menu Planning announced earlier in the evening, was their tutor, Grace McGreal, herself a Zest Quest Asia finalist five years ago. 

Runners-up were Seth Shipston, Sophia Fleming and Ava Bower-Scott from the 2024 Zest Quest Asia winning team from Sheffield College.  Nathan Vasanthan, Senior Lecturer at University of West London, took home the first award of the evening, the newly created Most Successful Zest Quest Asia lecturer, for having coached and guided UWL’s three previous champion teams.

Before a 200-strong audience, guest speaker and Michelin-star chef and restaurateur Tom Kerridge lauded the finalists for choosing “one of the most amazing, incredible and inspiring industries that you could ever be in, full of outstanding people with big hearts.” 

Kerridge said, “It’s awards like Zest Quest Asia that really do help to make you as students view British food and global cuisine as they all come together.  The teams that did very well did that extra bit of research, that extra deep dive into understanding Asian cuisines and why they work and have so much depth in them.  We now look at food on a global scale and Asian cookery is now recognised as some of the greatest and finest cooking in the world.  I hope you as students have learned a huge amount and take this with you as you continue your food journey and career pathways.”

Steve Munkley GCFA CG, chairman of judges, said, “This year’s Zest Quest Asia competition was really a level up from previous years.  The quality of what the students were cooking this year just blew me away.  I think Zest Quest Asia goes from strength to strength and in the future, I would really like to see even more challengers, especially from provincial colleges, take part.  We’ve got the sponsorship and support for them.  There’s absolutely no reason why they should not get involved.”

Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL, co-founder of Zest Quest Asia, said, “Pervin and I are thrilled that this year, Zest Quest Asia attracted a record number of talented and ambitious challengers.  The excitement and motivation to do well, in both the cook-offs and knowledge presentations, was plain to see and as organisers and judges, we were extremely proud to see that our new champions, Loughborough College, proved themselves truly worthy winners. 

“Now they are off to Hong Kong, with a brief foray into mainland China, to learn the culinary secrets of one of the world’s oldest and most sophisticated civilizations.  What’s not to celebrate? Congratulations again to them and everyone who took part in this year’s competition.  In a tight race such as this was, every finalist is already a winner.”

Other award-winners on the night were:

• Andrew Bennett Teamwork Award: Milton Keynes College
• Best Menu Presentation Award: Sheffield College
• Most Sustainable Menu: University of West London
• Best Use of Panasonic Accelerated Combination Oven: Milton Keynes College
• Best Use of Tilda Rice Award: Milton Keynes College
• Best Use of Lee Kum Kee’s Premium Mushroom Seasoning Powder: University College Birmingham
• Best Use of Lee Kum Kee’s Premium Oyster Sauce: New College Durham