Executive Chef
Bukit Pandawa Golf Course and Country Club’s Executive Chef Daniel Edward has had an interesting culinary journey that includes stints in the massive Address Downtown in Dubai and various high-end venues in Bali. He took time out of his busy day to talk to Exquisite Taste about his journey into the kitchens, his love of sharing his culinary skills and the joy of riding his motorcycle around Indonesia in search of new experiences.
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E: Thanks for taking the time to chat to us Daniel. You’ve worked in some impressive kitchens, can you tell us how you first made your way into cooking?
Daniel: Unlike many chefs, I have no family connection with hospitality or cooking. After school, I didn’t even want to go to university so I ended up working at Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta as a cleaner. Over time I saw how disciplined, structured and passionate the hotel chefs’ work was and eventually managed to get myself transferred into the kitchen.
E: Well that has worked out well for you! Did you go culinary school then?
D: No, in fact I learned my craft and all my cooking skills through experience, mainly working with foreign chefs. This is one of the reasons I really enjoy and love to help develop young Indonesian chefs to grow into their own skills.
E: After Jakarta, you spent 10 years working in high-end properties in the Middle East before returning to Indonesia. What brought you back?
D: I really wanted to share my knowledge and help develop young Indonesian chefs in the way that I had been helped. I also wanted to help bring Indonesian cuisine to the next level, learn more about the ingredients and create new things. So when the opportunity came up, I was ready!
E: What do you think the biggest challenges are when you offer degustation menus?
D: Degustation menus are a fantastic way to showcase both skill and the beauty of the produce. So when you create food that you know is great, but somehow the guests don’t get it, we have to try and educate them about the food and explain the concept.
Sometimes guests dislike one or more of the ingredients, so on the spur of the moment, you have to come up with another dish that not only suits their taste but also goes with the other courses. It is pretty challenging, but stimulating.
E: Tell us a little about the dining concept here at Bukit Pandawa Golf Course and Country Club and your plans for the future.
D: The Bukit Pandawa Golf Course and Country Club is part of a unique high-end lifestyle destination that in the coming years will incorporate sophisticated, luxurious hotels, including the Swissôtel and Mandarin Oriental, which means I have to ensure that the dining we offer in each different venue suits our discerning guests and exceeds their high expectations.
From my perspective, the ambience at The Kul-Kul is ideal for fabulous casual dining, so our aim is to present a high-quality dining experience featuring gourmet comfort food using local ingredients, such as our fabulous nasi campur, contemporary gado-gado, as well as lighter options like our beef tataki.
With the stunning views and intimate layout, the venue really lends itself to gatherings, functions and celebrations – small or large, we can cater to our guest’s most discerning needs.
E: Being a chef is very demanding work. For you, what are the most rewarding aspects and why?
D: Simple really – I want to make guests happy and see them come back time and time again. To achieve that, it’s about good ingredients, good food, good service and atmosphere, so it feels like a second home for our guests. These are my goals for The Kul-Kul.
E: So what do you think are the biggest challenges faced by chefs?
D: However good your restaurant, your equipment and your skills, if you don’t have quality ingredients then you can’t achieve anything. So maintaining a consistent supply of quality produce is the biggest challenge, no matter where you are.
E: What is your favourite dish on the menu here?
D: The suckling pig slider is a great light bite and one of my favourites. We created the “plate kecil”, or small bites, because golfers don’t want a large meal when they’re playing, they want something light and easily digested when they take a break at the ninth hole, along with a refreshing drink.
E: This edition of Exquisite Taste is all about meat. Can you tell us about your favourite meat dish?
D: My AACO Wagyu Beef Texture. I first cooked this Stockyard oyster blade dish in the 2012 Global Chef Challenge Final in South Korea. It was the first time I had cooked that particular cut of meat and it won Best Main Course Dish in the competition. I have to say it’s my favourite!
In competitions, they look at much more than the finished dish, they also check things like the skill, taste, colour, textures, the complexity and the techniques used – so I obviously am very proud of it.
E: When you get time out of the kitchen, what do you like to do to unwind?
D: Spend time with my family. And I love riding my motorbike around the island, I feel free from everything, I don’t think about the kitchen, food presentation, just the road.
E: Do you have any advice for budding chefs looking to really make their mark in the culinary world?
D: Learn from experienced chefs in the kitchen. See how they cook, from the most basic things to the most difficult, learn to create menus and learn to lead. Always freely share your own knowledge and remember you always learn more as you teach. It’s a serious undertaking and can take years.
