Cyrus Todiwala to hold first Asian Junior Chefs Challenge

TV chef Cyrus Todiwala OBE will play host to the inaugural Asian Junior Chefs Challenge in association with Master Chefs of Great Britain.

The event, held in London next week, was thought up by the man famed for being one half of BBC’s ‘The Incredible Spice Men’ and chef proprietor of Café Spice Namasté, to try and encourage students to cook traditional Asian cuisine.

Cyrus Todiwala has been a key figure in this competition as he attempts to seek home grown talent. He will be preparing a menu for a Gala Dinner after the cook-off on 18 October and is looking forward to the evening.

He said: “I am so heartened by the response to this competition. We have three great teams of finalists representing some of the best catering colleges in the land. This means that the awareness of Asian cuisine as a career choice will be spreading even further after this.

“The Master Chefs of Great Britain are spearheading what I hope will be part of the culinary calendar, a competition that every home grown chef with a passion to learn aspires to participate in.”

Students from across the country were invited to submit a four course authentic Asian menu and match their dishes to Indian wines and beers.

The finalists will come from the University of Birmingham, University of West London and Westminster Kingsway College and will aim to impress the eight judges, including Cyrus’ fellow ‘Incredible Spice Man’ Tony Singh, with their cooking and will also produce a presentation describing how they decided on their final menu.

Next week’s challenge will take place at Cyrus Todiwala’s Kitchen at the Hilton Hotel at Heathrow Terminal 5 and the winning team will win a fantastic ten-day trip to India including seven days at Radisson Blu Plaza, Delhi.