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Recipe for kindness : Australian chef’s book raises funds for Bali-based charities

Chef Dean Keddell sets out to help Balinese people in need and finds himself being repaid with an overabundance of kindness. 

Cat Woods (The Jakarta Post)
Melbourne
Mon, June 14, 2021

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Recipe for kindness : Australian chef’s book raises funds for Bali-based charities At home in Bali: Chef Dean Keddell (far right) with staff member Ayu (second from right) and their acquaintances. (Source/Courtesy of Dean Keddell)

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alinese working mother ibu Gek hadn't eaten a proper meal in days. Her family has been unable to support her and she was embarrassed about needing help, especially since she'd worked for her whole adult life — now into her 50s — and never asked for help. Nicolaas Kimman, food operations manager at Scholars Of Sustenance (SOS), a food rescue foundation, says that since April, ibu Gek volunteered at the SOS kitchen to help other people and communities in need in Bali. She has also received food for herself and her community.

"This crisis has affected us terribly," ibu Gek said. "We are really struggling each day. SOS has helped lighten the burden placed on our family during this pandemic, especially in the food sector."

SOS is just one of the charities being financially supported through the sales of Australian chef Dean Keddell's book, Bali Kita Bali Kamu, (Our Bali, Your Bali) a 400-page, hardcover book full of traditional Balinese recipes, photographs and stories of local individuals, families and warungs who have shared their food and their recipes. 

Keddell knew he had to do something to support his staff and the community within his adopted homeland of Bali. His business, like so many in Bali, had relied on tourism and without it, he was concerned by how he would keep his business running and look after his staff. The book he and his staff have created, with the help of local families and warungs in Seminyak, is raising funds for five charities that provide support for Bali's most vulnerable families and children. 

Keddell spent weeks meeting with his staff and their families in their homes to eat and hear their stories, then he met with local warung cooks to ensure they were also represented in the book.

“I was met with nothing but the kindest hospitality,” he says. “I was in awe. There are so many emotions [in] doing this book. The families and the warung owners are clearly suffering themselves, but they were so hospitable. They don’t have the business they used to have, and perhaps this is a chef thing, but they couldn’t give me enough: ‘Try this sambal, try this marinade’. They were so excited to share with me what they really care about,” Keddell said. 

Keddell found their passion revelatory. 

“These people are cooking because they want to make people happy, and until I did this book, I didn’t really grasp that these people do what they do because they really love it.”

New Zealand-born Keddell moved to Australia when he was 10 and his parents still live in Lake Eildon in Victoria. His career as a chef — which began when he started his apprenticeship at 16 — was what led to his life in Bali. In 2006, he moved to Bali to work for the original Ritz-Carlton in Jimbaran (now called Ayana) and has lived there since. He has owned and run Ginger Moon Canteen for nine years and Jackson Lily’s for four years.

“Having my own business, I have a very loyal following. My staff doesn’t leave, they stay forever and ever. It becomes an extended family and people look out for each other. I don’t think too many business owners in Australia could say this. People here do what they do for their community and their families, whereas Australians do what they do for themselves.”

Keddell’s book has raised US$70,000 for five local charities thus far, which was divided between them in March with a small percentage going to Keddell’s staff.

“The charities that I selected were the result of talking to many, many people. I’ve supported some of the charities in the past, but some were new to me,” Keddell explained. 

He worked with East Bali Poverty Project. The chef praises its British founder David Booth, who had been working as an engineer in Africa. Booth settled in Bali and began building schools and designed a curriculum for the students. 

“People come to Bali for years and years, and they have no idea about the poverty here. There’s a really vast difference between reality and what tourists believe about Bali. It’s not their fault, it’s not obvious if you’re staying in Seminyak, Ubud or Canggu. No one talks about it, and it’s not something you see in magazines.”  

Keddell also worked with Margaret Barry from the Bali Children’s Foundation (BCF), which helps educate poor children.

“[Barry] believes the way out of poverty is education. She is finding it very tough now. She had gone to families and encouraged them to put their 10-year-old children in school for a better life. The pandemic means these kids are not going to school; they’ve been put back to work again. That’s the reason these charities feature so strongly in this book. We want to put a spotlight on them and provide a window into the reality of what’s happening here,” Keddell said.

Learning together: Children who are cared for under the Bali Children's Foundation program.
Learning together: Children who are cared for under the Bali Children's Foundation program. (Source/Courtesy of Bali Children Foundation/Dean Keddell)

Kadek Febri Widi Wahyuni, now in sixth grade, has been on a scholarship through the Bali Children's Foundation since 2018. During the pandemic, she was able to take up additional classes and her house was furnished. Previously, she lived in a house with no windows, doors or beds for either her parents or the other children. 

"I also get food aid, which is very welcomed during this pandemic," she said. "I hope BCF is still able to help me and other kids who really need help [and to] support education."

Bo H. Holmgreen, founder and CEO of Scholars of Sustenance (SOS), has been able to continue to run mass kitchens that serve thousands of nutritious meals daily to those in need. Last year, SOS served 1.5 million meals in Bali, and this year their four kitchens and staff of 26 will provide over 2 million meals.

"The money collected from the book goes 100 percent to feeding the needy in Bali, as this group is sadly still growing due to the crisis. Dean has seen this first-hand, going with our cooking trucks to the needy areas, and we much appreciate his passion for helping us help these people."  

Keddell’s own children have been home-schooled since March last year, and it hurts him that they haven’t seen their grandparents in Australia for over two years. In creating this book and meeting with so many families, he has immersed himself into a community that provides the warmth he’s missed from being apart from his own parents.

“Receiving all the recipes was very emotional,” he recalled. “I spoke to the staff and said, ‘what can we do that supports the community and makes you feel better?’ After 14-15 months, this is really starting to mess with people’s mental health.”

At this point, they’ve sold roughly 3,500 books after the first print run of 2,500. After stories about the book began circulating in the media, Keddell was able to raise $100,000 after the first print run. The 2,000 printed books cost $65,000 and postage and handling was an additional $48,000.

Made Sujana is the manager at Jackson Lily's restaurant in Bali, where he's worked with Keddell since 2018.

Feeling happy: Children under the Bali Children's Foundation program.
Feeling happy: Children under the Bali Children's Foundation program. (Source/Courtesy of Bali Children Foundation/Dean Keddell)

"We don’t know how we will survive this. The problem is how to get money so we can eat every day and how to stop the bank from taking our house. We try to sell [staple foods] like rice and eggs, but every month, we sell less as people have less money. We can’t imagine another year like this; we don’t know how we will survive this. Nobody is in a good place; nobody is happy and everyone is worried. Dean is still looking after my family, even if it is a small amount of money, it is appreciated. We are hopeful for more book sales to help our community."

Keddell said: “My goal is to sell the remaining 1,000 books and then I’ll have an additional $80,000 to distribute to charities. I’ve still got support coming in, so I’m positive I can.” 

 

 

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