Three catering students from Farnborough College of Technology saw off competition from five other colleges to be crowned Zest Quest Asia champions at a gala dinner and awards ceremony held on Monday, 16th February at the Hilton London Heathrow Terminal 5. The team from The Sheffield College was named runner-up.

Rizza Eaglestone, James Spray and Liam Edmunds wowed the jury during the cook-off held earlier in the day in the kitchens of Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen, the hotel’s signature restaurant, where they produced a 4-course South East Asian menu that included a starter of Crispy Soft Shelled Crab with Thai Cucumber Salad, Coriander and Jam and a main course medley of ‘Street Food Chicken’ served alongside Thai blood sausage, steamed greens and sticky rice.

The winning team and their tutor, Alex Wilcock, were awarded a trip of a lifetime to Colombo in Sri Lanka, where they were hosted by the luxury Hilton Colombo.

The competition attracted a record 18 entries from colleges from across the UK, with six making the final cut: besides Farnborough College of Technology and The Sheffield College, entries were fielded by Westminster Kingsway College, last year’s winners; University College Birmingham; University of West London and Doncaster College.