Loughborough College has been celebrating after a double prize win at the 2020 national Zest Quest Asia finals in London.
Hospitality and Catering students Grace McGreal, Brannon Underwood and Chandni Khatri were chosen from hundreds of young chefs across the UK to compete in the final cook off for the prestigious competition founded by celebrity chef Cyrus Todiwala OBE and his wife Pervin, in collaboration with the Master Chefs of Great Britain.
The trio joined five finalist teams at Hilton’s signature restaurant at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen, to recreate their Gujarati cooking-inspired three course menu, using sustainable British ingredients.
Under the watchful eye of a team of judges, including Cyrus Todiwala, the Loughborough College students produced a starter of Nargisi Arancini of Paneer and Beetroot, a roasted Hake fillet with Malabar curry sauce, spiced spinach, onion biriyani and a coriander and pomegranate raita for the main course and a saffron panna cotta dessert with Nankhati crumb, pistachio meringue and lemon and ginger sorbet.
The team then delivered a presentation to the judging panel and took detailed questions on the provenance and sustainability of their ingredients.
At an evening gala dinner, Grace, Brannon and Chandni were proud to be announced as winners of the 2020 award for Best British Produce and the award for Best Local Sourced.
Loughborough College hospitality and catering lead and chef lecturer Darren Creed said: “The team worked incredibly hard to prepare for the final and they felt they could not have done any more in the kitchen and for the presentation which followed. The feedback they received was fantastic with praise for delicious dishes and a professional presentation where all three students’ passion really came through.
“It never felt like a competition, everyone was so welcoming, friendly and supportive. The whole thing was a wonderful experience for the students.
“There was a great atmosphere at the gala dinner. This was the first time we had entered so for the team to reach the national finals of such a high-profile competition was a massive achievement in itself. But then when they announced they had won an award – and then it was announced they had won another award… we were over the moon.
“We were particularly thrilled to win those particular awards as this is something which is very important to us at the College and in our Radmoor Restaurant. We had spent a lot of time visiting local suppliers to source and really understand the ingredients we were using. All of us, myself included, discovered so much about Asian cookery throughout this process – we really went on a learning journey together. It’s been inspiring.”
Pictured: Loughborough College are announced as double prize winners at Zest Quest Asia 2020 (from left) Darren Creed, Chandni Khatri, Brannon Underwood, Cyrus Todiwala, Grace McGreal and Andrew Bennett, Chair of Judges