Ubud Food Festival 2024

For this year’s Ubud Food Festival, ONBALI had the opportunity to cover the weekend of this culinary event for food lovers and enthusiasts. With Take It To The Streets as the theme for 2024, the festival was filled with food markets showcasing their best creations, discussions from Indonesian and internationally renowned chefs, and many special events and workshops revolving around food culture and food creations.

In case you missed the festival, read through what we managed to cover during the first weekend of June in this article.

Opening Press Call and Gala Opening of Ubud Food Festival 2024, Thursday, May 30

The first agenda of the festival was a press call held at Indus Restaurant. Ubud was slightly cloudy that afternoon, and the signs of upcoming rain were looming but, thankfully, it didn’t materialise. The blue signage with this year’s theme, Take It To The Streets, featuring the iconic Indonesian rooster bowl with yellow noodles on top, was lined up across the venue from Taman Kuliner to Indus Restaurant.

Opening Press Call

With the backdrop of Bukit Campuhan, the press call was attended by some key people of the festival. They shared not only the reason behind this year's theme of the Ubud Food Festival but also the street food in Indonesia.

Speakers:

1. I Ketut Suardana - Chairman of Mudra Swari Saraswati Foundation

2. Janet DeNeefe - Ubud Food Festival Founder and Director,

3. Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana - Festival Ambassador and Puteri Indonesia 2022

4. Chris Salans - Founder of Bali Restaurant and Café Associaton and founder of Mozaic Restaurant

5. Chef Freddie Salim - Owner of Silk Bistro Jakarta

6. Chef Nick Honeyman - Owner of Paris Butter in Auckland, and the Michelin-star restaurant Le Petit Léon in the south of France

Behind This Year's Theme of Ubud Food Festival

Behind this year’s theme, Janet DeNeefe commented that Indonesia is known for having the best street food. The festival celebrated Indonesia’s street food culture and aimed to reach a broader audience, showcase the diversity of Indonesian cuisine, and introduce dishes from remote parts of the country. Free entry was implemented this year to attract more attendees so they could immerse themselves in the festivities.

Chris Salans said that this year’s festival was also intended to change people’s mindsets about sustainability. Waste management in Bali has been a big issue, with BRCA for restaurants, café owners, and food packaging producers suggested to solve the problem.

Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana talked about the process of making Sari Bumi, the short film she shot two months before the festival. Sari Bumi was chosen because it meant The Essence of Earth, where all our food comes from. The short film served as a way to showcase Balinese food and culture and to remind people to keep telling stories about Indonesia’s culture.

The Gala Opening

After the Press Call, all the media and invitations had the opportunity to check the food market before the gala opening. We tasted some incredible food and there were even two vendors from Papua!

The Gala Opening was full of culture. After the welcoming messages from I Ketut Suardana and Janet DeNeefe, the exquisite performance of Kobagi Kecak was followed. The dance was inspired by the traditional Kecak dance movement but expanded to include producing a sound using hand movements, such as clapping, hitting their thighs, chest, knees, and cheek, and then using bamboo. They retained the chanting, 'Cak Cak Cak,' which is the trademark of the dance.

Janet DeNeefe presented Ibu Wayan Murni, the founder of Murni’s Warung in Ubud, with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Unfortunately, Ibu Murni couldn’t be there for health reasons. She said that Ibu Murni paved the way for what Ubud is now.

The opening of the Ubud Food Festival kicked in by ringing the bowl accompanied by traditional music.

Day 1 of Ubud Food Festival 2024, Friday, May 31

On the first day of the Ubud Food Festival experience, ONBALI got the opportunity to attend several events during the day. There weren't many people on the first day, possibly because it was still Friday, but the atmosphere of the festival was already in full force.

1. Workshop – Exploring Street Food Writing

Speakers:

• Eve Tedja – Associate Editor of Epicure Asia 

• Prinka Saraswati – Indonesian writer who contributes to Nowness, NOW! Bali Magazine, and Lazy Susan

At this event, these amazing ladies shared their expertise in food writing. They gave some points to consider when writing about food, such as observing the place and the decorations on the wall and striking a conversation with both customers and sellers, which can give us enough material to write about.

Eve Tedja said:

Writing about food can be a good starting point as it can lead to a discussion about history, culture, and even feminism.

They also reminded the participants about the right questions to ask, such as about the recipes, the start of the business, and the kind of customers who came to the restaurant, before asking them to write about their latest culinary journey with street food.

2. Cooking Demos at Teater Kuliner: Favourite Street Food of Janet DeNeefe & Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana

Speakers:

• Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana

• Janet DeNeefe

In this cooking demo, the mother and daughter shared their love of tipat cantok; a classic Balinese dish made of rice cakes (called tipat) and vegetables served with peanut sauce. They both then asked the audience to taste their creation.

Laksmi stated:

Tipat cantok is my favourite Balinese street food and I think, Indonesian peanut sauce is the best!

3. Food For Thought: Go Local or Go Home

This Food For Thought session, is by far, one of the most exciting and most insightful discussions throughout the festival. Not only it was attended by the top chefs from restaurants in Bali, but also Deepanker Khosla, chef and owner of Haōma in Bangkok, which was awarded Asia’s 50 Best Sustainable Restaurant and earned its first Michelin star in 2022.

Speakers:

• Deepanker Khosla – Indian chef and founder of Haōma in Bangkok

• Wayan Kresna Yasa – Balinese legendary chef and the owner of HOME by Chef Wayan Restaurant in Pererenan

• Eelke Plasmeijer – Founder and Chef at Locavore NXT

• Mandif Warokka – Indonesian Chef named Indonesian Chef of the Year by the Indonesian Chef Association in 2023

• Will Goldfarb – founder of Room4Dessert Ubud and The World’s Best Pastry Chef in Cacao Barry’s The World’s Best 50 Restaurants 2021

• Chris Salans – Founder of Mozaic Restaurant in Ubud and Bali Restaurant and Café Association (BRCA)

Sustainability Practice in The Restaurant

During this discussion, all the speakers shared their contributions at their respective restaurants regarding the management of food waste and moving towards sustainability in the food industry.

Deepanker Khosla, often called DK, told the story behind Haōma and how he built the ecosystem to reduce waste. He believed having zero waste was impossible, but minimising the waste was doable. He only received reserved guests at his restaurant and cooked for the exact number of reservations. He purchased bedsheets from five-star hotels and turned them into tablecloths, as the hotels had a policy that meant discarding any bedsheets that had been washed over 100–120 cycles. After 200 wash cycles, the tablecloths were turned into aprons for the staff. He also recycled the wine bottles by turning them into glasses, which he gave customers for free.

Chef Wayan shared his insights and hands-on experience as the Global Executive Chef and Culinary Director of the Potatohead Group in Bali, where he saved 1 billion Indonesian Rupiahs by replacing plastic wraps with Tupperware. He also struck a deal with local farmers instead of using the middleman for all the ingredients he used at his restaurant.

He also stated:

I will punish any of my kitchen staff who didn't follow the rules by appointing them to work in the staff canteen or quit.

These experts believed it was important to buy locally sourced ingredients (85% at HOME by Chef Wayan and 75% at Locavore NXT) and work with artisans who produced high-quality products to be sustainable in the food industry. They also unanimously believed that changing people’s mindsets about sustainability was the hardest part.

4. Papua Jungle

One of the most exciting things about attending the Ubud Food Festival was the opportunity to try food from different parts of Indonesia, which was impossible to achieve unless I travelled there. One of the food stalls was Papua Jungle from Papua’s renowned Jungle Chef, Charles Toto.

They brought several items directly from Papua and one caught my attention: a string of seeds that reminded me of sunflower seeds, only slightly bigger. It was called tuke and is taken from a fruit called uromo – or jungle coconut, in the local language. Tuke is a snack for most Papuans, especially those who live at 4,500 above sea level, as tuke can only be found at 5,000 above sea level. It is taken from inside a fruit resembling a jackfruit and tastes similar to coconut. It was slightly sweet but, in general, was like biting a somewhat mature coconut flesh.

Nowadays, few people are willing to travel to the jungle to take tuke, but I was lucky enough to taste it at the festival.

Day 2 of Ubud Food Festival 2024, Saturday, June 1

Food enthusiasts flocked to Taman Kuliner on Saturday as the festival entered its second day. The events were more varied, the discussions more interesting and insightful, and the cooking demonstrations celebrated Indonesia’s cuisine diversity.

Cooking Demos at Teater Kuliner: Srikaya Palembang by Chef Abya of Yummy IDN

Speaker:

• Chef Abya Khalida Witjaksono – Chef from Yummy IDN

The Saturday morning session started at around 9.45 AM with cooking demonstrations from Chef Abya, who recreated the delectable street food from Srikaya Palembang, a city in South Sumatra. In Indonesia, srikaya is also the name for sweetsops/sugar apples, but this dessert doesn’t have fruit as one of the ingredients.

This green custard is a favourite snack for people in Palembang. Its green colour is achieved by blending pandan leaves, which are the fragrant leaves used in many Indonesian cuisines and can either be savoury or sweet.

I had never had this snack before, so I was ready to savour it once she finished her live cooking.

Chef Abya said:

Srikaya Palembang may not be suitable for breakfast, but it makes a perfect afternoon snack!

The custard was soft and not overly sweet. To be honest, I wanted more!

Food for Thought: Is Indonesian Street Food the Best?

In another Food for Though session, the three three experts discussed their take on the question about street food in Indonesia. Aligning with this year's theme of the Ubud Food Festival, they weighed in on the challenges that Indonesian street food faces.

Speakers:

• Kevindra Soemantri – Indonesia-based food writer and author of Jakarta: A Dining History. On Netflix’s Street Food Asia, Kevindra acted as an Indonesian food expert and narrator

• Ragil Imam Wibowo – A renowned Indonesian chef and owner of NUSA Indonesian Gastronomy, Segarra Beach Club, Warung Pasta, LoCARASA, Dixie Easy Dinning, and Spicy Geg. CNN Indonesia awarded him Chef of the Year in 2018

• Ray Janson – A renowned Chef, Restaurateur, and a Podcaster. Ray serves as the host of Ray Janson Radio

The three of them unanimously agreed that street food in Indonesia has the potential to be the best in the world, but there are several factors that need to be paid attention to. Hygiene/cleanliness and cooking technique are the two factors that have to be addressed as the taste and the variety are already present.

They also believed the government has to regulate the hygiene of street food, as people's perceptions are of such options as being dirty rather than hygienic. To protect our culture's identity, the government should start exporting our culture, including food, as food is the easiest way to penetrate the global market.

The State of Indonesian Street Food Nowadays

They also discussed the rise of Korean culture in Indonesia and its influence on the street food landscape. During one of his trips to Kalimantan, Chef Ragil recalled:

After four hours through the river in Kalimantan, what kind of snack did I find there? Tteokbokki!

He added how Korean snacks were more popular among the younger generation compared to, for example, kue cubit or kue lekker, two traditional Indonesian snacks.

It was a complex issue as economic aspects played a huge role in why people chose to sell those snacks instead of Indonesian snacks. They also believed the government should create a regulation where non-Indonesian snacks should be sold indoors instead of on the street to preserve the Indonesian street food culture.

According to Kevindra, the rise of social media played a huge role in influencing people’s perceptions of food culture. Previously, for the community to invent new food, it took centuries of development, as part of a culture dependent on migration, colonialization, and exposure. Nowadays, in contrast, people create food based on what they see on the internet without having direct knowledge of the original food, resulting in a not-so-authentic taste.

Cooking Demos at Teater Kuliner, by Rui Yamagishi

In this cooking demonstration, Chef Rui Yamagishi showed his skills in cooking the Market Fish with Tomato & Wakame Sauce and Soy Marinated Tomato served with Potato Crackers and Smoked Kombu Oil alongside Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana.

Speakers:

• Rui Yamagishi – A Japanese-Balinese Executive Chef of Fūjin Izakaya, Acta Brasserie, and Rayjin

• Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana 

Since many of the food aspects took hours before they were ready to be assembled, Chef Yamagishi prepared some of them beforehand. For example, he cured the red snapper with kombu (a dehydrated Japanese seaweed) for four hours.

The Process of Making the Market Fish with Tomato & Wakame Sauce

Chef Rui Yamagishi mentioned:

Fish shouldn't be cured for more than four hours, otherwise, the fish will be stiff and dry.

He then prepared the dashi, which was made out of kombu water. The kombu shouldn't be cooked too long or be too hot (a maximum of 85–90^o C). After that, the kombu should be taken out of the water and mixed with katsuobushi.

Chef Yamagishi then blanched the cherry tomatoes to create soy-canned tomatoes and made the sauce from the tomato water. He used all the parts of the tomatoes to align with the sustainability aspect that the festival was trying to echo to attendees.

The result was mindblowing! The fish was perfectly cooked, and the potato crackers with the dehydrated tomato sprinkle were amazing. People rushed to try it when Chef Yamagishi finished because he only prepared three plates for the whole audience to try.

Day 3 of Ubud Food Festival: Sunday, June 2

The last day of the festival was marked by morning rain. When I got there, the road was wet, yet the festival spirit was still high. These were the unforgettable and exciting events I managed to attend on the third day of the Ubud Food Festival.

Open Kitchen: Chawanmushi with Makoto Tokuyama

In this Open Kitchen session, which took place in the open kitchen of Mozaic Restaurant, one of Bali's best restaurants, the Japanese-born Chef Makoto Tokuyama showed his skill in preparing his personal take on Chawanmushi. He graciously presented the steps and tips to cook his version of Scallop Chawanmushi with Black Truffles.

Speakers:

• Makoto Tokuyama – Owner and Chef at Cocoro Restaurant, who spent his early years as a Zen Buddhist monk. Recognised among 2024’s 31 ‘Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassadors’

Chawanmushi is an egg custard dish from Japan, but it's not sweet like the typical egg custard; it is savoury. In his version, Chef Tokuyama used fried buckwheat and black truffle as the topping, while scallops were inside the chawanmushi.

Making Scallop Chawanmushi with Black Truffles

Since we only had less than two hours, Chef Tokuyama already prepared some of the ingredients in advance.

He prepared kombu by soaking it in the water for 40 minutes before boiling it at 80^o Celcius. He then prepared the dashi, stir-fried the scallops, and the bonito he brought from New Zealand.

He said:

The bonito needs to be dehydrated and pulverized, and then soaked in the water for 10 minutes until it sits at the bottom of the pan.

People were truly excited to try his creation. Moreover, he answered questions from the attendees, even the menial ones. He also let us try the raw scallop before he cooked it, the dashi he made, and the fried buckwheat before he assembled them into a beautiful dish with black truffle on top.

Food for Thought: Death of the Cookbook? The Rise of Blogs and Food Influencers

One of the most interesting discussions at this year's Ubud Food Festival was this one. In this day and age when the rise of content creation in social media reaches its peak, the speakers weighed on the question, of whether we still need printed cookbooks or whether the video format was enough to show people about particular recipes.

Speakers:

• Narendra Archie Prameswara – An Indonesian TV host known to cook together with Indonesian mothers

• Roby Bagindo – A video producer and the founder of Masak.TV

• Laurence Benson is a British TikToker who often highlights Indonesian cuisine and culture

• Ray Janson

They all agreed that content creation on social media and video format was an extension of the cookbook, as it is also a form of documentation. But a cookbook was always needed as the base of the content creation about food, especially cooking.

Can Social Media Replace Cookbooks?

Archie stated:

Video format made it more accessible to reach a broader audience thanks to the internet. People can now try making food from different countries with just one click.

Roby added that a video format made it easier for people to follow along and learn about the recipe.

Laurence said that in London, five years prior, there was only one Indonesian restaurant; now, there were five, and he believed it was a sign of the rise of Indonesian food abroad. He also shared that many of his followers were actually keen to try Indonesian food just from watching his videos.

The downside of the video format was, according to Roby, about verification. Since there were many recipes floating on the internet, it was hard to verify and refer to which recipe was the correct one. Especially in the Indonesian food landscape, each region has its own version of a specific dish, and it's impossible to know which one is authentic and which one is not.

Food for Thought: Women on Top

The last Food for Thought discussion at the Ubud Food Festival was discussing the roles of women in the industry, especially in the kitchen. These women shared their experiences in the male-dominated food industry and the reason they decided to dive into the kitchen as a career choice.

Speakers:

• Marcela Arango – A Colombian chef and co-owner of El Pantera Taquería

• Brigette Ibrahim – Co-chef and Owner of Tanau

• Theodora Hurustiati Poeradisastra – An Indonesian-born chef with Italian training and the Founder of Pura Cucina Studio

• Prinka Saraswati

This discussion was extremely insightful to attend as women still face discrimination in the kitchen, even when they have already shown themselves as capable of handling the pressure.

Women in The Kitchen

Theodora recalled she had to cook out of necessity as her mother wasn't a good cook and, one day, the family got sick, so her mother asked them to cook. Marcella shared a similar story as her mother was not a good cook, but she loved to eat, so she started cooking when she was 9, but it wasn't until later in life that she took it seriously. About her reason for working in the kitchen,

Brigette Ibrahim recalled:

I was inspired by my grandmother as I used to see her cooking when I was a kid. One of my brothers is also a cook, so I wanted to be one.

They unanimously agreed that working in the kitchen was tough but, even though they were capable of doing the same thing as men, they were often ignored and considered incapable of handling the pressure of the hot kitchen. Thus, they often delegated to the cold kitchen. Nevertheless, they still had to handle the social pressure that women belonged in the kitchen at home with their kids instead of at the restaurant.

They experienced sexism in the kitchen, as Marcella remembered she was not seen as a head chef, so was often disrespected by other staff in the kitchen. Theodora often receives sexist questions about her credibility in the kitchen just because she is an Indonesian woman.

Conclusion of Ubud Food Festival 2024

The calendar of this year's Ubud Food Festival finally came to an end. From 31 May to 2 June 2024, I was fortunate enough to meet people from Indonesia and internationally who were passionate about what they do related to food. The festival provided a platform for these chefs, entrepreneurs, business owners, authors, and journalists to share their expertise, crafts, knowledge, insights, and opinions about various topics, including sustainability, food waste, gastronomic tourism, preserving Indonesia's culture through food, as well as collaborating in some workshops, masterclasses, cooking demos, and special events to highlight the theme of Indonesian street food.

The highlight was, of course, the food! From Bali's nasi campur, babi guling, nasi pecel, and tipat cantok to international cuisines like quesadillas and bánh mì, the festival highlighted the character of Indonesia through many wonderful dishes. The live music after the sunset completed the vibrant atmosphere of the festival. Moreover, with no entrance ticket, the general public had the opportunity to browse, taste, and indulge in the diversity of flavour from all the festival's food stalls.

Ubud Food Festival 2024 was a celebration of Indonesia's street food landscape and I was so fortunate that ONBALI got the opportunity to exclusively cover the three-day festival for you.

We hope that you enjoyed the article and are looking forward to what next year's festival has in store!