UBUD — Food festivals have become part of the travel calendar for many a foodie. And some in the region have become world-class events, such as the Noosa Food And Wine and the Melbourne Food and Wine festivals in Australia. Closer to home, relative newcomer Ubud Food Festival (UFF), which just started a year ago, has quickly gotten on the radar of epicureans. For one, it was even covered in British paper The Guardian this year.
What started as a celebration of Indonesian food in a modern context has grown bigger in scope, highlighting important culinary issues. The 2015 edition for instance, had a rendang cook-off between Indonesia's Rahung Nasution and Malaysia's Chef Wan alongside a Food Forum series delving into topical food discussions such as Bali's rice crisis, GMOs (genetically modified organisms) foods and medicinal eating.
The second edition held at the end of last month was much more ambitious, and filled with repeat attendees in a testament to the well-organised first run. The UFF's founder and director Janet DeNeefe shared that "our mission as a Festival goes much deeper than simply serving up plates of delicious Indonesian food".
UFF 2016 seeks to support the local culinary industry by creating opportunities for aspiring chefs and entrepreneurs to develop and grow while showcasing the archipelago's cuisine. This year's festival is an initiative of the Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati, a non-profit with a mission to enrich the lives and livelhoods of Indonesians through culture and the arts.
Highlights this year included famous names such as Mandif Warokka, Indonesia's first Michelin-star chef; The Philippines Margarita Fores, winner of Asia's Best Female Chef in Asia's 50 Best Restaurant Awards in 2016; and Sisca Soewitomo, the 'ibu' (mother) of Indonesian cuisine and much-loved TV chef. Of course, which other food festival can also boast daily yoga sessions, a screening of an Indonesian movie on coffee, live music and a closer look at ceramic artistry? So did the UFF live up to its promise? A hardcore Singaporean foodie reviews her experience in the three-day event:
DAY 1
The opening night special event was a rooftop cookout at boutique hotel Bisma Eight's Copper Kitchen & Bar with its chef Duncan McCance and his old mate, guest chef Jesse McTavish, the chef-owner at Melbourne's The Kettle Black. McTavish is also the creator of the most Instagrammable ricotta hotcake ever. (Search the hashtag #thekettleblack to see what we mean.) This was the event I was most excited for, and there was something magical about being on a windy rooftop with fairy lights above and the setting sun on the padi field landscape.
The menu stayed true to its stated themes of duck and rice, with the two appearing in various forms. (Duck tongue salt and rice crackers fried in duck fat, anyone?) Dishes were tasty and well-executed but not life-changing. There was brilliant use of local ingredients, though, mostly from the hotel's own organic farm just a couple hundred metres down the road and usage of the hero ingredient was quite surely beak-to-tail.
The wine was a well-chilled Sauvignon Blanc from local winery Cape Discovery, made in north Bali with blast-frozen Margaret River grapes (bet you didn't know Bali makes its own wine). The wine had delicious passion fruit flavours and a racy finish, a brilliant start to a meal, which we shared with fellow festivalgoers, a cafe owner and her pal from Cairns, Australia. We took turns Instagramming at the table with the very stable Wi-Fi available, and ended up following each other on the platform to continue the food-obsessed conversation long after dinner was concluded.
DAY 2
I spent the day at The Big Caffeine Hit Workshop conducted by Rodney Glick, the owner of hip Ubud roastery and cafe Seniman Coffee Studio, where I learnt all about the bean from growing to roasting. People with various accents were asking about grinders and handmills, ceramic versus metal blades, temperature of brewing liquid, and nearly scientific calibrations of how best to store beans in order to retain maximum brightness of flavour and richness of aroma. Useful tips I picked up: Beans should be stored in an airtight container away from heat and light and consumed quickly. For the best outcome, those with a perfectionist streak will enjoy portioning their beans into individual-use ziplock packs before storing them in the freezer, thus ensuring the beans do not experience fluctuations in humidity and temperature.
Still, participants were most interested in knowing the answer to this: "How can you make the most definitively awesome cuppa all day every day?" For the record, using freshly-ground beans from a handmill with ceramic burrs and an aeropress brewing method best guarantees that. You're welcome.
DAY 3
In short: Mind-blowing and nearly life-changing. Chef Eelke Plasmeijer of Locavore, ranked 49 on this year's Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list, brought home UFF 2016's themes of food sustainability, local produce and healthy eating in one amazing hyper-local menu. In fact, his warmth and enthusiasm about the menu and the festival shone through even before you step foot in the restaurant, as he personally responded to reservation enquiries. And Locavore delivered. Dishes after dishes wowed — a bouquet of wild flowers and leaves enlivened with a vinaigrette spritz while sitting in a vase; intensely flavoured tomato sorbet in an umami pool of clear tomato consommé and a perfect circle of fresh tomato; the aptly-named "A Leaf Fell off the Tree" with a pile of leaves on a bed of sweet caramelised cabbage; and the sweet local crayfish paired with a surprising prawn paste beurre blanc.
Every one of them presented on hand-crafted ceramic artworks by Ubud-based Gaya Ceramic was nearly too beautiful to eat as well. The conversations that flowed were equally memorable as fellow foodies enthused about the meal and the festival in general.
Indeed, my fondest moments were the times I geeked out with fellow foodies, deconstructing how each element on a dish was created, swapping notes about favourite Bali eats, drinks and last meal suggestions. Beyond the events and excellent food, there was the sheer joy of sharing and celebration among the guests. Guess what, UFF 2017? I'll be back for you.
Source: Did last month's Ubud Food Festival live up to expectations?
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