Finding Culture through Food
 |
| The Highlands of Bali |
This BLOG started over twelve months ago, and as usual things get in the way and it was left in draft form. I can’t believe I didn’t complete the blog back then and share it with you all, because this is the best culinary experience I have ever had. We were visiting Bali in the Nusa Dua area to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary, when Rob presented me with, really a gift of a lifetime to attend a cooking class to learn traditional Balinese Cuisine under the master chef, Heinz von Holzen. So this is what I wrote August 2019.
Heinz von Holzen is the owner of the renowned Balinese restaurant Bumbu Bali. He is passionate about Indonesian cuisine and spent many years immersed in its diversity and intricacies. Heinz also conducts cooking classes at his restaurant three times a week. His classes are extremely popular and boosts Bumbu Balis reputation as an authentic Balinese restaurant and cooking school that has won multiple awards for its promotion of authentic Indonesian cuisine. I was fortunate to attend one of his classes last year. I was truly amazed at how much was covered in the 8 hours spent cooking under the master himself.
 |
| It was a privledge to learn from the master |
Heinz von Holzen appeared in full motion, making headway at a pace far too fervent for six o'clock in the morning, especially for me. Greeting us with a cheery Selamat pagi “Good Morning”... Today, Bali's legendary chef Heinz Von Holzen was driving toward a traditional market. Ten of us were coming along with him. All of us were tourists who joined the market tour as part of his renowned cooking class. 'Those pick-up cars bring the freshest vegetables that have just been harvested yesterday morning from the highland areas. In the afternoon, those vegetables are loaded onto the truck and arrive here at around 4 to 4:30 a.m.,' Holzen explained to the tourists while driving. 'If anyone of you back home have access to vegetables like this, you live on a farm, it's impossible otherwise.'
Like most things in Bali it's a mad sensory overload of the beautiful and confronting: colourful baskets full of tiny chillies and other spices, fruit and vegetables, bowls of prawns buzzing with flies, piles of raw meat, bags filled with dazzling exotic looking flowers, and an endless parade of scooters whizzing past.
 |
market colours |
Holzen teaches Balinese cooking: every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He starts the class with an introduction of local markets and explains about exotic spices and fruits. Later, he takes us for a quick tour to buy fresh vegetables, stocks and catches of the day from Jimbaran fish market. As he guides us around, Von Holzen talks of his devastation at the collapse of the fish population here, explaining that most of the fish we see in the market is frozen and shipped over from Java rather than caught fresh in Bali waters. Much of the seafood here is frozen or defrosting, and he points at the cloudy eyes of most of the fish to prove his point. He explains you will only see seafood on the menu in his restaurants when he can source it locally and fresh.
These ingredients collected at the markets will later be used in the cooking class. When the morning tour was done, we head back to Von Holzen's sprawling Pasar Malam compound, with its traditional guest rooms and open air pavilions and kitchens. Over a quick breakfast of Balinese fruit, black rice pudding and deliciously decadent sweet rice flour dumplings covered in palm sugar coconut sauce, Von Holzen tells us about his background.
Holzen first moved to Bali in 1990 to take a position at the Grand Hyatt in Nusa Dua. He was transferred from the Hyatt Hotel Singapore in which he served for more than five years. When he first arrived in Bali, he said he was disappointed to find out that Balinese foods were not very popular, leaving him with the impression that mie goreng (fried noodles), nasi goreng (fried rice), gado-gado (vegetables served in peanut sauce) and satay ' frequent food found on hotel's menu were Balinese foods. He said the hotel has a strong philosophy about the foods of the countries in which it is located, such as by serving ethnic foods. He came up with idea to write a cookbook on Balinese cuisine after holding a competition of chefs at the hotel. Amazed with the diversity of foods presented at the competition, he took photos and collected recipes to document it. His book on Balinese cuisine, The Food of Bali, then provided the basics in the development of Bumbu Bali. We still follow these recipes today and many of them are used in our cooking,' he said.
His knowledge of Balinese food expanded when he met his Balinese wife, Ketut Puji Anniki Oka, who took him to her house and introduced him to her community. 'Obviously, countless trips into villages and homes as well as by actively taking part in many ceremonies have helped me to collect and record a vast variety of authentic dishes,' Holzen said. With enough knowledge to serve and introduce authentic Balinese food, he left his job, then at another upscale hotel, and took a chance to open his own restaurant.
As a chef, he said he never stops exploring the wonders of Indonesia's cuisine in order to deliver better quality cooking. His travels and addiction to photography have resulted in more than 10 cookbooks, including three books that compile varieties of Indonesian foods, which recipes he collected during his volcano-hopping trips across Indonesia in the last 10 years. '€œWe always learn; that's what I need to do as a chef. How can I improve the quality? What can I do to maintain the quality? That is important for me. If you can maintain the quality of the restaurant, I don'€™t think you will get problems in business,'he said.
We are taken to an open kitchen where more than 20 of Holzen's secret recipes would be revealed.' So far, we have done about 1,700 classes,' said Holzen, who is also author of many cookbooks. His restaurants, Bumbu Bali I and Bumbu Bali II, are renowned for their authenticity and for the legendary cooking class that has operated for 21 years. He said when the restaurant was first opened, he thought the location was not very good, but it came at affordable price.' So I figured out if we do only a Balinese restaurant, we needed to attract some people. So we decided to put ' restaurant and cooking school'. The cooking school serves as a sign of quality,' he said. Unlike other cooking classes that are available in Bali, Holzen's class also implements modern cooking methods that involve a scientific approach and the usages of modern cooking wares, such as pressure cookers and thermometers. His new way of cooking as shown in the cooking class is also featured in his latest book, A New Approach to Indonesian Cooking.
 |
| Outdoor Kitchen at the Bumbu Bali Cooking School |
True – it seems peculiar being led through authentic Balinese cuisine by a Swiss-Born Chef, but his restaurant is one of the only where Balinese cuisine can be found. Because it is cooked almost exclusively in the home, true Balinese food is virtually unknown by visitors. Throughout Bali you see fried rice, fried noodles, satays and suckling pig, but none of these reflect the daily flavours of Bali.
Holzen's modern cooking technique is mostly influenced by American food scientist Harold McGee, UK celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, Nathan Myhrvold and Maxim Bilets (the authors of Modernist Cuisine) and Philips Pauli, author of Classical Cooking: The Modern Way. Most of the recipes featured in his latest book were gathered from his travels across the country, such as recipes from places like Maluku, Padang or Palembang.
Von Holzen takes a scientific approach to his cooking, which is reassuring if you don’t know your galangal from your ginger. Everything is prepared with military precision here everything is measured to insure the end product is always the same – you won’t touch a knife, but you will get a chance to grind spices in the open-faced mortar and pestle typically used in Bali, or have a go at stir-frying in the open-air kitchen. The class is demonstration-based with many opportunities to volunteer. You grind a variety of Balinese spice blends and also elegantly wrap highly seasoned foods in banana leaf bundles. You’ll make up to two dozen dishes. All notes and the recipes are supplied for you to take home with you.
 |
| Those Nanny arms got a workout |
Hienz Von Holzen is a demanding host, passionately rattling off quotes and scientific facts from his favourite chef Heston Blumenthal and food writer Harold McGee, and barking questions at us that elicit awkward responses of what is generally the "wrong" answer? But the right answer is always answered by him with such passion on the subject, and hey that’s why we are here in a class ... to learn. These faux scoldings are offset by the comedy routine between Heinz Von Holzen and his long-time assistant Pak Bagus, a hilarious man with an expressive face. The pair banter back and forth, teasing each other and their guests. It's almost like dinner theatre. Heinz von Holzen conducts the class with poise, humour, unique viewpoints and a true compassion for the people of Bali and their cuisine.
 |
| Under close supervision |
His ultimate aim is to constantly find new things and create a good working environment for his staff believing that when his staff members are happy, they would work happily and in return make his customers happy. As an adventure junkie, Holzen also hopes he can find time to climb more volcanoes and spend time with his family. His life philosophy is simple: live the moment, work hard today and work better tomorrow. 'I don't know what I'll be in five years. What is important for me is today. Today I have the possibility to improve what I did yesterday. I don't know what I'll be tomorrow,' he said. ' What I know is, I want to climb more mountains and spend more time with my family and be together that we spent more time together than we have in the past, that is important for me.'
After 2 hours at the market followed by 6 hours of cooking we the participants are on fire. You would expect that we would be totally exhausted, that came later. But Hienz Von Holzen’s enthusiasm and constant energy for the culinary delights of his adopted country is infectious. The amazing food that we have created in the stunning surroundings of Bumbu Bali is now ours to devour. And hungrily we did, every traditional dish that we prepared looked nothing like the meals westernised restaurants serve. The flavours were remarkable the creations worked all of our senses and we all felt satisfied that we had found the true Indonesian Culture through food.
 |
| The Gado Gado I help create in class |
After one day, I may not quite be a master of Balinese cooking, but Hienz Von Holzen's passion and class have certainly boosted my appreciation for the island's unique cuisine - and shown me there's much more to Bali than shopping, sunset bars and yoga.
Following are some of the meals I have made from Hienz Von Holzen's Books
 |
| Beef Rendang |
 |
| Crispy Duck |
 |
Fish in Balinese Spices Wrapped in Banana Leaf |
In a moment alone with Hienz when I took Rob to visit his amazing compound, I was able to ask these questions
If you were a spice or ingredient what would you be?
Easy. Fresh turmeric. Beautiful flavour, colour and incredibly healthy
If you were to collaborate with Heston Blumenthal to create a dish that represented all aspects of Balinese life what would you develop?
Much rather would I love to spend two weeks in Heston’s kitchen observing the day to day operation and see what technics could be adapted to Balinese cuisine.
What would be a simple recipe Our Galley readers would love over and over, one of your favourites?
Simple!!! What is simple and what is complicated. Palem Udang, coconut prawns, sate Lilit, Sate Udang which I personally eat several times a week. Or what can be better then simply a really fresh grilled fish.
What is the secret to Balinese cuisine?
Passion and a love for fresh and good ingredients.
This is a collection of his recipe books that I have been able to put together.
The Little Indonesian Cookbook
80 Authentic Recipes from Indonesia
Street Foods of Bali Hardcover
The Food of Bali: Authentic Recipes from the Island of the Gods
Feast of Flavours from the Balinese Kitchen: A step-by-step Culinary Adventure
The Food of Indonesia: Authentic Recipes from the Spice Islands
Granite Mortar and Pestle 8 Inch - Natural Stone Grinder for Spices, Seasonings, Pastes. Similar to the one used in the class.
I was unable to source the exact grills that Hienz Von Holzen sells, as he has them made in Bali for his restaurant but this is very similar and without using it myself I believe it would do the job quite nicely. TOOGOO BBQ Grill
 |
| Rob saying I am FULL! |
 |
| Enjoying our 29th Wedding Anniversary at Bumbu Bali |
 |
| We had to go back for the lunch time special the food is so good |
 |
| Green Paw Paw and Mushroom Soup DELISH! |
 |
| No Meal is complete without Dessert |
 |
| A taste of everything authentic to Bali |
Affiliate Program Statement
Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you make purchases from our affiliate program. This is at no extra cost to you. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you. We try and test all products before we recommend. We will tell you if they are an Affiliate Link. Above are some of the services and products we recommend and have an affiliation with. Cheers Rob and Karen
Comments
Post a Comment