We Are What We Eat: Bali’s Slow Food Movement
many restaurants on the island of Bali are choosing to take their time to support local producers.
In an age of mass production as well as also also fast food, finding eco-conscious, healthy food can be a challenge. Bali’s Slow Food movement can be gradually bringing the concept of community back into food by connecting local farmers who grow fresh, healthy as well as also also chemically-free produce, restaurant proprietors as well as also also foodies who care about what they put on their plate.
Originating in Italy in 1989 when a group of protesters took a stand against the opening of McDonalds within the centre of Rome, Slow Food has gradually made its way to Bali. currently active in around 150 counties, the grassroots movement reached the shores of Bali in 2009.
To make foodies’ lives easier, Slow Food Bali has created a list of restaurants – both mainstream as well as also also off-the-beaten-path – which use at least 75 percent organic, local ingredients.
Here are a few options which have gained Slow Food Bali’s Snail of Approval certification.
Cuca – Jimbaran
Cuca specializes in tapas made via fresh ingredients sourced exclusively (100 percent) via Indonesia. This particular sets the establishment apart via most some other restaurants on the island, which import a portion of their ingredients via abroad.
“We buy as much as possible directly via local farmers to avoid them being cheated out of their hard work,” says Cuca’s Spanish co-founder Virginia Entizna. “Our ingredients are sourced via across the archipelago including Bali, Java, Kalimantan, Sumatra as well as also also Papua.”
Barbecued Octopus – Cuca
Cuca’s dishes are meant to be shared as well as also also the modest portions mean which patrons are able to try a wide variety of options on the menu – all made via the finest, freshest local produce. “Our most well-known dishes include the barbequed octopus, the crispy fried chicken,” Entizna says.
In addition to a stylish dining room as well as also also alfresco dining, Cuca offers a more out-of-the-box experience for those who prefer to take an active interest within the preparation of their meal. The restaurant’s 8-metre counter offers front row seats to where some of the best ingredients on the island are transformed into culinary masterpieces.
Locavore – Ubud
With the motto, “Modern Cuisine, Local Produce,” Locavore hasn’t acquired its name by mistake. A locavore can be a person whose diets consist mainly of locally (within a 250-kilometre radius) grown or produced food.
“Our philosophy can be to use as much local produce as possible to create modern European dishes,” says the restaurant’s Indonesian chef as well as also also co-founder, Ray Adriansyah.
To make the most of the local produce, the open-kitchen concept restaurant adjustments its menu according to the season. “Besides the a la carte menu, we have two tasting menus, a Locavore as well as also also a Herbivore menu – each comes in several or seven courses. We try to change a few of the items every Monday just to mix things up a bit,” Adriansyah says.
as well as also also what about some of the most well-known dishes on the menu? “The beef tartare can be one of the favourites with our guests. We import the beef via Malang as well as also also serve the item with wasabi leaf mayonnaise, pickled shallots, radish, as well as also also beef lard with herb brioche croutons on the side,” he says.
Bambu Indah Dapoer – Sayan
Set on the ridge of the Ayung River, 15 minutes via Ubud, Bambu Indah Dapoer can be part of the Bambu Indah boutique hotel. The restaurant specializes in authentic Balinese home-style cooking, served amidst beautifully restored antique Javanese teak homes as well as also also landscaped gardens.
While the intricately designed restaurant can be an attraction in itself – think natural stone, bamboo, terracotta floors as well as also also antique wood countertops – what can be perhaps most significant about Bambu Indah Dapoer can be which most of the restaurant’s dishes are made via the seasonal vegetables as well as also also herbs grown within the on-site permaculture gardens.
“Our team of gardeners turns organic waste into compost as well as also also compost into nutritious soil to grow healthy produce which can be used in our kitchens as well as also also for daily offerings to the island’s gods as well as also also goddesses,” says Diane Lion-Giustiniani, Bambu Indah’s operations manager.
Satay Tusuk Beef – Bambu Indah
Lion-Giustiniani believes which most people want to eat local produce although don’t know where to find the item. Nevertheless, she says the item can be important to go the extra mile to support food cultivation methods which preserve the island’s unique culture. “the item takes a little bit more research as well as also also time than just walking into a supermarket, although sourcing as well as also also eating locally can be bound to bring more satisfaction with the quality of the produce, as well as also also happiness in knowing you are supporting the right people as well as also also cooperatives.”
Samadi Bali – Canggu
An organic cafe, as well as a yoga as well as also also wellness centre, Samadi Bali delivers on all fronts. Not only does Samadi Bali serve delicious, healthy food made via locally sourced ingredients, although the hub also promotes Bali’s producers at its weekly Sunday market.
“About 90 percent of our ingredients are sourced via Indonesia. We have a network of local organic farmers as well as also also producers who come together to sell their produce to the Canggu community at our market,” says Andréa Drottholm, the co-owner of Samadi Bali.
Fruit Salad – Samadi Bali
Drottholm says which she wants to show people which organic, vegetarian food need not be bland as well as also also boring. While Samadi Bali’s menu can be very international, a lot of the recipes are of Indian origin. “Our most well-known dishes include the Samadi Fruit Salad as well as also also Mysore Dosa,” she says.
“We also have dishes which are suitable for people with special culinary preferences. We serve gluten free food, dairy free food, raw food as well as also also can cater to people with allergies,” she continues.
Drottholm’s dream can be to wake people up to the need of taking better care of our surroundings, our nature as well as also also our bodies. “the item can be our responsibility to take care of ourselves. Eating well means which we feel Great. When we feel Great, we smile as well as also also bring joy to those around us.”
The Plantation – Payangan
A part of the Alila Ubud resort, the Plantation offers authentic Balinese as well as also also seasonal French-inspired dishes which celebrate local produce. The Balinese-style restaurant, with lofty coconut pillars as well as also also a traditional alang-alang (thatched) roof, sources 80 percent of its produce locally via the Ubud, Bedugul as well as also also Jimbaran areas, as well as the resort’s organic garden.
The Plantation’s signature offering can be the Royal Ubud Rijsttafel, which translates to Rice Table. A smorgasbord of dishes made for sharing with family as well as also also friends, the Rijsttafel can be a perfect way to sample the traditional flavours of Bali.
“All the dishes are made via recipes which have been handed down through generations, as well as also also everything can be made via produce sourced in Ubud as well as also also the surrounding areas,” says Erwan Adri Wijaya, Plantation’s Executive Chef.
While Wijaya laments the disappearance of traditional Balinese cuisine, as well as also also the fact which the growth within the number of fast food outlets can be changing the island’s food culture, he also says which many people are choosing to return to local, organic produce.
“We hold regular cooking classes as well as also also events which introduce guests to Balinese products by taking them to the local markets as well as also also showing them how to cook traditional food with natural, organic as well as also also local products,” he says. “This particular way we can actively educate people as well as also also raise awareness of the benefits of local products.”
Side bar:
Slow Food Bali – http://slowfoodbali.com
Cuca – http://www.cucaflavor.com/
Locavore (- http://www.bali-indonesia.com/magazine/locavore-restaurant.htm
Bambu Indan – http://bambuindah.com/resort/dapoer
Samadi Bali – http://www.samadibali.com
Plantation Restaurant at Alila Ubud –http://www.alilahotels.com/ubud/dining
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We Are What We Eat: Bali’s Slow Food Movement
We Are What We Eat: Bali’s Slow Food Movement