0 Bali reigns as Indonesia’s food art center

A mature tourist industry with its high demand for culinary perfection had transformed Bali into a food carving capital, an association head declared. “Bali has grown into Indonesia’s, or even the world’s, food carving mecca,” Indonesian Chefs Association (ICA) Bali chapter chairman Komang Adi Arsana stated on the sidelines of a fruit carving competition on Sunday in Kuta. Adi Arsana pointed out that the resort island’s high stature in the food carving world was to a large extent due to the high level of skills and professionalism displayed by the island’s chefs. 

“Our chefs here in Bali generally possess a complete set of skills. They can cook and prepare a delicious meal, as well as carve food products into artistic objects,” he said. “The Balinese chefs also display unique and different techniques in food carving and an ability to use diverse materials, from fruits to vegetables,” Arsana added, suggesting that the towering impact of sculpting and carving art throughout the island’s history might have influenced the Balinese chefs’ success in food carving. 

“Full carving, a difficult method that demands precision and has a very small tolerance for error, in which a chef directly works on a single material and carves that material into an aesthetic art work, is a very common thing here. To the contrary, a large number of chefs abroad prefer the carving method that combines carving with attaching other materials.” Arsana stated that Bali had one of the most respected food carvers around. Nyoman Tedun, the former executive chef of the Grand Bali Beach Hotel, played a major role in popularizing the art of food carving in the 1970s. 

Tedun, who was present at the competition, said that he won first prize in the 1984 international ice carving competition in Japan when he, for the first time, represented Indonesia in the global event. Ever since then, he had taught the art to young chefs in Bali and abroad. He was also named the ambassador of Indonesian foods and sent to Bangkok, China and the US to promote Indonesia’s culinary heritage. He is still one of a few chefs regularly invited to prepare the presidential banquet for the celebration of Indonesia’s Independence Day. 

“During my time as a chef, it was quite rare for us to prepare art objects made of food materials with the sole purpose of displaying them. Preparing edible garnish was the common thing at that time,” Tedun recalled, adding that he was an autodidact. The ICA Bali chapter, according to Arsana, organized dozens of cooking and food carving competitions annually to improve the skills of the chefs. “We have also sent Balinese chefs to various national competitions and usually our chefs score big in those events.” The fruit carving competition on Sunday was co-organized by ICA and Foodmart. 

The raw ingredients prepared by the committee were at first covered with a cloth, preventing the participants from knowing the kind of fruit they would have to deal with. The participants were then given two hours to complete their creations. Foodmart’s manager, Dwi Juliawan, stated that the competition was part of the company’s campaign to promote fruit grown in Indonesia. “Our outlets sell more domestically grown fruits and vegetables than imported ones. Up to 60 percent of fruits we sell are local. Vegetables record an even a higher percentage with up to 70 percent of our vegetable produce locally grown.”

source : bali daily