Coleg Llandrillo catering students reach the final rounds of Zest Quest Asia - marking wales’ debut in the final of the prestigious Asian cooking competition

Coleg Llandrillo has become the first Welsh college to qualify for the Zest Quest Asia Final, thanks to three dedicated catering students. The finalists, 18-year-old Tesni Young along with Hugo Loh and Arthur Kinnerley-Williams, both 17, will take a trip to London this April to compete in the final rounds of the Asian cookery competition. They will join teams from seven other colleges across England.

“Starting with 45 colleges and then making it to the top eight on our first run is amazing,” said Arthur. “ I’m proud of us and thankful to the college for this opportunity,” he added.

Zest Quest Asia first launched in 2013. It is a culinary competition designed for college teams. It gives students the chance to demonstrate their technical expertise, creativity, knowledge, understanding and appreciation of Asian cuisine.

The trio from Coleg Llandrillo, who are all studying Level 3 Professional Cookery, will showcase their knowledge and technical skills in Asian cuisine over the two-day final on 9 and 10 April. They will need to impress the judges with a 15- to 20-minute knowledge presentation on day one, followed by a live cook-off the following day.

“It’s honestly amazing being able to represent the college in this competition, especially being the only Welsh college. So I’m not only representing my college but also my country,” said Tesni.

The Coleg Llandrillo team will be competing for a trip of a lifetime to a secret Asian destination. The location is revealed at the Gala Evening and Awards Dinner, which will be held in the evening of Friday 10 April at the Hilton London Wembley.

Glen Hughes, Service Industries Lecturer at Coleg Llandrillo, said: “I am incredibly proud of the three learners for reaching the final. Their commitment and hard work throughout this competition has been excellent. They have shown real dedication, regularly coming in on their days off to refine, practise and improve their dishes. Their passion, teamwork and determination truly deserve this success, and we are all excited to see them represent the college at the final.”

Well done to our finalists and we wish you the best of luck for the competition!

To see the range of hospitality and catering courses available to both young people and adults at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, visit: https://www.gllm.ac.uk/courses/hospitality-and-catering

To find out more about Zest Quest Asia and see the full list of colleges competing in the final, visit: https://zestquestasia.com/