Founded by restaurateurs Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala of Café Spice Namaste with the involvement of Master Chefs of Great Britain, the culinary competition recognises outstanding knowledge and understanding of Asian cuisine, and the talent and skill to design and execute an impressive menu of Asian dishes. Since its launch in 2013, Zest Quest Asia has been widely credited with raising awareness and interest in Asian flavours, cooking styles and techniques among a new generation of college-trained chefs, in some cases inspiring former contestants to seek careers in Asian cuisine. College lecturers are encouraged to get involved, by helping to motivate and mentor students who may be preparing classically influenced Asian cuisine for the first time.

The competition also aims to help stem the skills shortage in Asian cuisine threatening the billion-pound Asian food industry, as well as encourage educationists to include classical Asian cookery in the curriculum.

The competition is open to full-time students with permanent residency status in the UK. Colleges are invited to field teams of three students (plus their tutor) who vie for a first prize consisting of a 7 to 10-day cultural tour of an Asian culinary capital. Students from University College Birmingham were crowned Zest Quest Asia champions in 2020 and will be embarking on a belated prize trip to Bangkok. Other colleges to produce Zest Quest Asia winners before the coronavirus pandemic put a temporary halt to live events were Westminster Kingsway College, Farnborough College, Milton Keynes College, University College Birmingham, and University of West London. Among the cities visited by the winning teams (accompanied by their tutor) are Mumbai, Colombo, Manila, Tokyo, Osaka, Hanoi and Bangkok.

The next winning destination is a closely held secret, to be revealed only at a dinner and awards evening, following a live cook-off and knowledge presentation. This year the competition and awards evening are set for Friday, 8 April 2022.