Culinary competition in Bali draws attention

Posted by Umi Haroh on 26th June, 2013

Cooking competitions have been attracting more people since being popularized through a variety of television shows. It is, after all, great fun to watch chefs striving to beat the clock in order to complete their dishes and outdo their competitors.

While watching a cooking competition on television might be fun for all the added drama and neatly edited sequences, seeing the
action live offers just as much excitement.

The FaveHotel Bypass Kuta in Bali hosted the third annual Culinary Festival earlier this month, in which 14 promising young chefs
from the Archipelago’s Bali properties gathered to compete.

This year, all the chefs were required to prepare a three-course meal consisting of an appetizer, main course and dessert in under 90 minutes. Each course had its mandatory main ingredient that each competitor had to use. For the appetizer, the chefs had to use tempeh, the main course had to be based around duck and the dessert had to include sweet potato.

The time limit and the primary ingredients were just two of the predetermined restrictions set by the organizer.

In addition, the contestants had to work in pairs and to bring their own equipment. The main purpose of the event is to encourage the participants to be creative and serve food of the highest quality.

The event is a statement from the Archipelago hotel group to show that food quality is one of their prime concerns – even in their
budget hotels.

“Bali is well known for its many high-profile, fine-dining, freestanding restaurants. But we as a hotel group want to demonstrate that mid-level and economy hotels can and should focus more on the quality of their restaurant offerings and the training, as well as encouragement, of our local Balinese talent,” Archipelago’s Bali-based regional general manager, Winston Hanes, told a press conference.

After an hour, many of the contestants had started to wrap up their dishes. The attention paid on the finishing details was incredible as they styled their food, leaving no room for anything unwanted.

“But, of course, aside from looking good the food must also taste good,” Hanes added.

The flavor of the food played an important part, counting for half of the total score, presentation counted for 30 percent, while hygiene and organization determined the remaining 20 percent.

Dewar Put Budi Attica and Ni Put Julliard from FaveHotel Seminyak beat the other 12 pairs of contestants to win the competition.
The meal that they devised will now be served as the signature dish in Archipelago properties throughout Bali.

Last changed: 26th June, 2013 at 4:17 AM