The Ubud Food Festival (UFF) is a brand new concept and world-class culinary event showcasing Indonesia’s incredible diversity of cuisine, innovative chefs and local produce, successfully wrapped-up in Bali’s cultural heartland, Ubud.
A new sibling for world-renowned Ubud Writers & Readers Festival—also created by Ubud celebrity, Janet DeNeefe—UFF launched as a unique three-day culinary celebration with Indonesian food in the starring role, dishing-up a programme rich in food mythology, authenticity and taste, but essentially created to help cement Indonesia as one of the world’s leading culinary destinations.
From 5th to 7th June, more than 6,500 foodies from across Indonesia and the globe flocked to one of Bali’s foremost culinary hubs, Ubud, for this inaugural culinary festival. Hosted at two main venues in central Ubud, Indus Restaurant and Taman Baca, the UFF’s 70-strong programme of ticketed and free events covered cooking demonstrations, workshops, food forums, markets, food tours, wine tastings, film screenings and more.
The UFF brought together stars of Indonesia’s culinary landscape, including TV personalities Bara Pattiradjawane and Bondan Winarno and culinary expert William Wongso. There were also international chefs who brought their unique style of food-fusion to the archipelago, such as award-winning Chris Salans of Mozaic and industry heavyweights working in Southeast Asia and beyond, including celebrated pastry chef Janice Wong and Malaysia’s beloved Chef Wan. Despite a predominantly Indonesian line-up, the UFF’s international chef contingency certainly played their part, with Singapore’s leading restaurateurs, Ryan Clift and Dave Pynt, hosting sell-out dinner events. A UFF highlight was surely the Cooking Demonstration series and much-anticipated Rendang Cook-Off between Indonesia’s cult cooking hero Rahung Nasution and Chef Wan.
“Indonesia is faced with the challenge of both moving forward as a leading culinary destination, while also retaining its links with traditional cooking and customs,” William Wongso stated. “That’s why the celebration of Indonesian food in a modern context, like the UFF, is so important.”
Addressing the crowd at the Closing Night Party, UFF Founder-Director DeNeefe declared she had been overwhelmed by the positive energy and excitement from both chefs and festival-goers alike: “We’re so honoured to help enrich the Indonesian food scene both at home and overseas for many years to come.”
(www.ubudfoodfestival.com)
