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Combining local flavors with French cuisine
Food fundis: Chefs pose during a press conference for Good France in Bali, in Sanur, Denpasar
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span class="inline inline-center">Food fundis: Chefs pose during a press conference for Good France in Bali, in Sanur, Denpasar. They are from ENVY-Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali, Mozaic, MÉTIS, Odette Bali, and Teatro Gastroteque restaurants.(JP/Luh De Suriyani)
Indonesian flavors and fresh ingredients will marry with French gastronomical techniques on the hands of professional chefs during French international culinary festival Good France.
Alliance Française de Bali, Institut Francais d’Indonesie (IFI) and the Embassy of France in Indonesia, in cooperation with the French Tourism Agency, Atout France, will organize the event simultaneously on March 21 in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Bali, Makassar, Manado and
Minahasa.
The festival, which will feature France’s culinary wealth and its blends with typical regional specialties, is initiated by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Chef Alain Ducasse. This year, over 3,000 restaurants from 150 countries will join Gout de France, or Good France, which has been recognized as cultural heritage by UNESCO.
In Indonesia 39 restaurants will participate in the event, including six that are located in Bali, comprising Mozaic Restaurant, Teatro Gastroteque, Cucina — SOFITEL Nusa Dua Bali, ENVY - Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali, Métis Restaurant and Odette Bali.
Chris Salans, the owner and chef of Mozaic, describes it as a French culinary celebration integrated with Balinese cuisine. Salans will cook French and Indonesian ingredients by blending the flavors of both countries, especially with that of Bali, where he has lived for over a decade.
“I’m going to use kluwek [spice nuts], curry leaves and kecombrang [torch ginger] as the magic flavors of Indonesia,” he told reporters recently at his restaurant in Sanur, Denpasar.
His menu to be presented at Good France includes turbot fish, blue lobster from Brittany and foie gras. This year will mark the second participation for Mozaic Restaurant in the festival.
There is always a first time for everything as seen in the participation of Métis Restaurant, Envy and Odette Bali in the event this year. Friska Rudana, the owner and chef of Odette Bali who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, France, refers to her restaurant’s menu for Gout de France 2018 as a reflection of Odette blended with international cooking and a French touch.
“Our menu will start from France before proceeding to Jerusalem, Brazil and Catalonia, and finally berthing in Bali for the closing course with fresh local ingredients,” the young female chef said.
Nicolas “Doudou” Tourneville from Métis Restaurant will offer a special dish dedicated to French legendary chef Paul Bocuse. Included in his menu is black truffle soup, typical of France and once prepared by Bocuse, which is rare and expensive.
Balinese salt such as sea salt from Bali’s Amed (Karangasem) and Tejakula (Buleleng) shores, will be used in the special dishes from the chefs in Bali. The traditionally processed salt will enrich the flavors of their specialties and represent a tribute to sea salt farmers as artisan producers.
As their cultural heritage and identity, French people consider their gastronomical tradition a vital element. This tradition has been a time-honored social practice for the celebration of important moments in life like weddings and birthdays. It strengthens individual ties among friends and family members by stressing the aspects of sharing and togetherness.
Alliance Française de Bali will also hold Frankofoni 2018, an annual festival of French speaking communities, collaborating with Bentara Budaya Bali in a musical concert by slam poetry-styled musician from France, Kwal, on March 24 at Bentara Budaya Bali, Ketewel, Gianyar.
Kwal, whose real name is Vincent Loiseau, along with Héloïse Lefebvre (violin) and Antony Baker (piano), performs in Medan on March 15, Jakarta on March 17 and Yogyakarta on March 22.
The Frankofoni program is preceded by an intensive course of French at an elementary level. A drama will follow as a concert opening show to be staged by young artists of Bali’s Teater Kalangan, presenting their work under the theme of intolerance as a response to the current situation.
