Now in its fifth year, the The Ubud Food Festival (UFF) presented by ABC, has grown to become Indonesia's leading food event. According to the latest UFF press release, it is the nation's primary platform for sharing Indonesia's diverse culinary cultures, unique local produce and top restaurants with the rest of the world.

"UFF is renowned for bringing together local food heroes to collaborate with chefs from across the world, encouraging cross-cultural exchange and forging new professional pathways. From Jakarta to New Jersey, Bangkok to Barcelona, Sydney to Singapore and of course, from across Bali, the lineup is testament to Indonesian food’s rising status on the world culinary stage."

Local Indonesian products on display.

The 3-day culinary celebration will be themed “Spice up the World” and will look at developing partnerships and collaboration between local and international chefs to encourage cross-cultural exchanges.

UFF founder and director Janet DeNeefe said in a press release “the culinary collaborations between international and Indonesian chefs at Ubud’s top restaurants and resorts will strengthen cross-cultural exchanges and professional opportunities. From Aceh to Ternate, we’ll have more regional Indonesian cuisine on the table than ever before.”

More than 100 chefs, entrepreneurs, food writers, farmers, activitists and scientists will be at the UFF, which will include kitchen stage demos and more than 20 special events. Members of the public can buy passes to access the event and sample the culinary delights on offer.

Lots of things for Junior Chefs to do too!

UFF will also welcome Debbie Teoh, the poster girl of Peranakan cuisine, Luca Fantin, who was given the accolade Best Italian Chef in the World by Identità Golose Magazine in 2014, and Carlos Montobbio, who conjures up magical Spanish cuisine at Singapore’s Esquina.

The UFF press release explains a core component of the event is to showcase cuisines from lesser-known regions of Indonesia. And according to the Jakarta Post, DeNeefe will be joined at her Long Table Lunch by "Kris Syamsudin, Founder of eco-tourism initiative Cengkeh Afo and Gamalama Spices in Ternate, North Maluku. Together they’ll present traditional Ternate dishes slow-cooked in bamboo."

In addition, UFF will also cater to those with seriously sweet teeth. "Award-winning Executive Pastry Chef for the Robuchon Bangkok Group, Yannis Janssens is a culinary innovator renowned for his distinctive approach to creating desserts, while Master Chef Australia 2017 runner-up Ben Ungermann is Oz’s new king of ice cream," says UFF.

Ubud Food Festival is a major annual project of the Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati, with a vision of enriching the lives of Indonesians through community-building and cultural programs. It is the sibling event of Ubud Writers & Readers Festival and Bali Emerging Voices Program.

Sources: Tribun Bali, Jakarta Post, UFF, 10 Times, The Bali Bible, Ubud Food Festival

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