Asian cuisine taook centre stage at the Young Indian Chef Finals.

Pillars Restaurant, based at University of West London played host to the Young Finals.

The Young Indian Chef Finals was a nationwide competition in India to find a young talented novice chef and was organised by the University’s educational partner in India, the IIHM International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM).

The IIHM is India's largest hospitality focused institution with eight locations around India. The competition highlighted the importance of south Asian cuisine and the career opportunities available to those yearning to join the industry.

Yashveer Ajay Singh 18, Aditi Chand 17, Saiesh Palçankar 18, Diksha Choudhury 18, Ishan Abraham 18, Zainab Begum 18 and Rohan Dev 17 were selected from thousands of young amateur chefs from across India to travel to London and compete in the finals at the University.

They had to prepare and present a three course south Asian meal from their region.

A variety of specialists in south Asian cuisine were on the judging panel which consisted of Atul Kochhar owner of the Michelin star restaurant Benares in Mayfair, Shaun Kenworthy director of culinary arts for IHHM, Dipna Anand chef lecturer and co-owner of the Brilliant Restaurant, Gulu Anand also co-owner of the Brilliant Restaurant and Michael Coaker Senior Lecturer in culinary arts at the University's London School of Hospitality and Tourism. Each judge provided finalists with positive comments and advice on their dishes.

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles gave a speech and representatives from the Indian High Commission also attended.

Aditi was named the lucky winner. Her minty mushroom rolls with coriander chutney, lemon rice and mango halwa captivated the judges.

For her efforts she won £6,000, a trophy and a scholarship at IIHM. Commenting on her win, she said: 'It's a huge honour to win the prize and it has given me a huge platform- it’s wonderful.'

Dipna Anand,chef lecturer and co-owner of the Brilliant Restaurant, said: 'Aditi had an immense skill in the dishes that she prepared. The tastes, flavours and spices were well balanced and her combination reflected India so well.'