IRON CHEFS:Liew(centre) dispaly his winning dish together with judges and participants (from left) Lao, Dorge, Chin, Sim, Muneeb and Joseph

Kuching, 4 March, 2012 - A unique combination of Italian and tropical flavours in a dish called ‘Hawaiian Fettuccine' won the judges taste buds at the ‘Iron Chef' competition at The Borneo Post International Education Fair (BPIEF) yesterday.

The talent behind the dish was Andrew Liew, a Diploma in Tourism student from UCSI University.

Judges of the competition were impressed with the texture of his handmade fettucine and gave positive reviews on the unique flavours which included pineapple cubes for a fresh sweet bite.

Judge Joseph Pudun, a culinary lecturer from UCSI University also noted Liew's simple but elegant presentation of the dish.

All three judges including UCSI University master barista Christopher Lao and BPIEF chairman Dorje Rajah gave Liew's dish 237 out of 300 points.

During the 45 minutes competition organised by UCSI University, participants were required to come up with a pasta dish. All contestants made their pasta dish from scratch.

Other dishes featured by three other contestants were ‘Spicy Mushroon Fettucine' by Lorek Chin, ‘Beef Bolognaise Spaghetti' by Andy Sim and ‘Cannelloni Stuffed with Minced Beef and Mornay Sauce' by Muneeb Sidiqqi. According to UCSI University chief operating officer Lu Huong Ying, the event is held to showcase the talents of students from the university's Faculty of Hotel Management and Hospitality.

"The tourism and hospitality courses at UCSI are designed with innovative approaches that focus on work-based learning. Our aim is to provide more industrial training and working experience instead of just theoretical studies," she said.