Disciples Escoffier Indonesia: Developing Indonesia’s Culinary Scene

Indonesia, a country filled to the brim with food lovers, has recently welcomed a brand new association made especially for gourmands, Disciples Escoffier. With its headquarters in Jakarta and its first chapter in Bali, Disciples Escoffier Indonesia (DEI) is set to promote and improve the Food and Beverage industry across the nation, inviting those who enjoy good food, good wines and good times to become members and join exciting culinary events.

• Background
• Disciples Escoffier Indonesia
• Upcoming Event: 21 May 2022 (Bali)
• Joining DEI

Background 

The worldwide association was founded in 1954 and has since built up a worldwide membership of 30.000 people. It was founded to honour August Escoffier, a legendary figure in French culinary history. 

At the end of the 19th Century, Escoffier and hotelier Cesar Ritz launched the iconic hotels the Savoy, the Carlton and the Ritz, pioneering an elevated hospitality experience; Escoffier himself revolutionised fine dining kitchens and created methods, systems and standards that effectively transformed French Haute Cuisine. Not only that, this maestro produced Le Guide Culinaire, his piece de resistance, a book containing over 5000 recipes of French cooking, now considered its ‘bible’.

Escoffier is thus a symbol not only of kitchen excellence, but of the entire experience of refined hospitality, and as such the mission of the Disciples Escoffier is to promote the art of cooking and eating, to organise culinary competitions for young chefs and waiters, to bring chefs and service members closer together, to organise culinary events for the public and to participate in charitable events.

Disciples Escoffier Indonesia

Following the same principles, the Indonesian delegation of the Disciples Escoffier aims to promote the culinary arts and culture across the country.

Step one is to build a community of like-minded people who themselves are dedicated to help develop the hospitality industry, and champion the spirit and values of Escoffier.

So far, the regional presidents are Chef Stefu Santoso and Chef Gilles Marx and Pastry Chef Advisor Louis Tahunadi, situated in Jakarta. The board members of Bali include Chef Gildas Perin, Chef Chris Salans, Chef Justin Maute and Aurelien Del Rio. Honorary Member of the DEI includes H.E Mr.Olivier Chambard, French Ambassador to Indonesia.

In order to expand and build its community, the organisation will create unique epicurean events for its members, and even the public, to enjoy. These events must showcase a distinguished level of culinary excellence but must also be fun and entertaining for all. The organisation must also strive to support career development, skill sharing, education and charitable events in the industry.

Debut Events for DEI

As their first initiative of the year and as an introduction to the Association, DEI will be hosting several events in Bali on Saturday, 21 May 2022 including a culinary competition, a cocktail party, and a gala dinner. 

Young Talents Competition: In the early morning of 21 May, DEI will hold a Young Talents Competition at the Politeknik International Bali school in Tabanan, Bali. Eight young chefs (between the ages of 18 and 25) coming from all across Indonesia have been selected amongst dozens of applicants based on criterias of creativity, respect of the ingredients provided, photos of their proposed dishes and the organisation of the recipes for their proposed dish. 

The 8 candidates will compete against each other in cooking and present a traditional recipe from chef Auguste Escoffier accompanied by 3 different wines from Dwimitra Sukses Perkasa to pair with. The dishes will be judged by a jury of peers, presided by Chef Jean-Yves Leuranguer, voted Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman of France) in 1996, considered to be the most prestigious competition for culinary arts in the world. 

The winner will receive multiple prizes and will be sent by DEI to represent Indonesia at the Asia-Pacific Regional Young Talents competition in Hong Kong in September 2022 for a chance to go to the world finals. This unique event will give the candidates a great opportunity to develop their skills in the culinary art as well as network with chefs from all across the world, opening doors to new opportunities for these young and talented chefs. 

Cocktail Party: In the afternoon, the Apurva Kempinski Bali will hold a one-of-a-kind Cocktail Party; this will see the induction ceremony for all the new members of the association (total of 20 new members in Bali) and will also reveal the results of the Young Talent Competition will be announced and the winner will receive his awards. This event is private, or invite-only – the Gala Dinner (below) is open to the public

Gala Dinner: The evening will conclude with the very first DEI Gala Dinner in Bali – a grand epicurean event showcasing the culinary wealth of Bali. This will be the first of many events to come – other epicurean dinners and gastronomic events will follow during the year, both in Bali and in Jakarta. 

The Gala Dinner will be held at the beautiful Koral Restaurant at the Apurva Kempinski Bali, for a total of 120 guests. The event is open to everyone, both members and non-members to join.

During the evening guests will have the opportunity to appreciate great wines and dishes of some of Bali’s best chefs such as Maurizio Bombini, Mandif Warokka, Gildas Perrin, Vincent Nigita and the chefs of the Apurva Kempinski Bali. For the evening, the chefs will be inviting their Indonesian sous-chefs to perform their dishes in the kitchens in an effort to put forward Escoffier’s value of promoting and growing local talent. 

Join Event / Membership

• For those looking to join the Gala Dinner, please note it is very limited availability. Please contact Apurva Kempinski Bali: wa.me/+6281138209541 or restaurants.bali@kempinski.com.

• Stay in the loop with updates and events in Indonesia, follow the association’s social media here: Facebook Page  |  Instagram Profile
• If you are interested in becoming a member of Disciples Escoffier (Asia Pacific Region) go to: disciples-escoffier.asia

Sponsors and Supporters:

All of the DEI events taking place on 21 May 2022 would not be possible without the tremendous support of the Association’s partners and sponsors; Savencia Fromage & Dairy, Elle & Vire Indonesia, Mastrada, AS Foods, Multifortuna Sinardelta, Dwimitra Sukses Perkasa, Dygtal Marketing Solutions, Politeknik Institute Bali, Hatten Winery, Lotus Food Distribution, Bali Sustainable Seafoods, Chef Legacy, Dewandra Photography, Classic Fine Foods, Island Organics, Kaluga Caviar, Blades of the Gods and The Apurva Kempinski. 

NOW Bali Editorial Team

This article has been written or uploaded by NOW! Bali's in-house editorial team.