BRCA Newsletter: June 2026
June 2026
Apa Kabar? Warm hospitality greetings from BRCA!
Apa kabar, Bali F&B fam! This month, the island is doing what it does best: reminding us why we’re all here.
Hari Raya Galungan and Kuningan are upon us. Galungan marks the triumph of dharma over adharma, the days when ancestral spirits return to visit the living. Kuningan, ten days later, is their farewell. You’ll see it in the penjor lining every street, in the offerings, in the quieter rhythm of the island. To our Balinese colleagues and friends: selamat merayakan.
Galungan and Kuningan remind us of what matters: integrity, community, and doing things the right way. Values we carry into our kitchens every day.
As penjor lines the streets and Bali grows more beautiful, BRCA celebrates what we love most: connection, community, and good food.
This month, we kept the luncheons going, the speakers inspiring, and the conversations worth having.
We also showed up where it mattered: at Ubud Food Festival and Wonderspace’s “Nothing Wasted” event on food waste in hospitality, because supporting the community is what we’re here for.
MONTHLY LUNCHEON UPDATE
10 June 2026
BRCA Luncheon at 7AM 7PM Ubud
Good Food, Good People, Great Ubud Afternoon
Where the Community Came Together
This month, BRCA headed to Ubud for our monthly luncheon at 7AM 7PM, a cool lifestyle cafe tucked down in Pengosekan that instantly felt like the right place to gather.
Walking in, we were greeted by their amazing spread of bread and pastries, which are very much their thing and already a great sign of what was ahead. The community took over the second floor, a good mix of members, non-members, sponsors, and F&B businesses, which is exactly the kind of room we love to see.
The afternoon opened with welcome remarks from Dean Keddell, one of BRCA’s founders, and Gary Foster, GM of 7AM 7PM Ubud.
The Spread, the Space, the Mood
This month’s luncheon opened with a choice of tomato caprese or fried squid, followed by truffle pasta or roasted spring chicken, and finished with chocolatine or lemon cake.
Honestly, not a bad way to spend an afternoon with your tribe.
The Venue
7AM 7PM is one of those places that does it all without making a fuss about it. Known for its impressive bakery and pastries, it transforms effortlessly into a proper diner come evening. Their visual identity and aesthetic are a real strength too, a consistent style and branding that carries across all their venues and social media and sticks in your memory.
On the food side, think croissants, sourdough, sandwiches, panini, quiche, and cakes alongside pasta, steaks, roasted chicken, salmon ponzu, and a solid drinks menu. The brand is clearly on a roll, currently running three cafes in Bali and three in Jakarta, with more on the way.
MONTHLY LUNCHEON SPEAKERS
Speaker of the Day: Blake Thornley – Chef and Co-Owner,
Mozaic Restaurant Ubud
Chef Blake Thornley of Mozaic Restaurant Gastronomique opened first talk with one question: how do we make guests understand Bali through taste, aroma, and feeling? For Mozaic, fine dining is not about luxury or technique alone.
It is about telling the story of a place, through its ingredients, its people, and the way guests are welcomed.
The talk closed with a challenge to the room. Restaurants have the power to shape how Bali is seen. By championing local ingredients, supporting producers, and creating experiences rooted in place, the F&B community can help Bali earn its place as a serious culinary destination with its own voice and identity.
As Chef Blake put it: when guests leave, they should not only remember what they ate. They should remember how Bali made them feel.
About Chef Blake Thornley
Chef Blake Thornley did not arrive at Mozaic by accident. He grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, started cooking at 11, and spent years sharpening his craft at some of the world’s most demanding kitchens, including Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago. He first came to Mozaic to train under Chef Chris Salans, and spent eight years as head chef there, building a culinary language rooted in Indonesian ingredients. A chapter in Shanghai followed, leading OHA Eatery and reshaping how a city ate. Now back at Mozaic, Blake brings everything with him: the technique, the curiosity, and a conviction that the best ingredient is always the one grown closest to home.
MONTHLY LUNCHEON SPEAKERS
I Made Runatha, founder of Moksa Plant-Based Restaurant, opened his talk with a simple idea: living foods, fresh, unprocessed, and plant-based, are one of the most powerful choices we can make. Rich in natural enzymes and probiotics, they support not just our health but our skin, energy, and mood.
At Moksa, that philosophy starts at the source, with sustainable local ingredients like sweet potato, coconut, bamboo shoots, and moringa grown right here in Bali.
The talk closed with a bigger picture. Choosing living foods is not just a personal decision. It supports local farmers, reduces carbon footprint, lowers healthcare costs, and creates demand for sustainable food systems.
As Made put it, by choosing fresh and natural, we are building a healthier future not just for ourselves, but for the generations coming after us.
About Chef Made Runatha
Chef Made Runatha did not set out to become a plant-based pioneer. Trained in both European and Asian cuisine, he spent years working in hotel kitchens across Bali and abroad before one question changed everything: how do you make healthy food actually taste good? That curiosity took him to the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute in the USA, where he studied under Cherie Soria, known as the mother of gourmet raw food cuisine, and returned as the world’s first Indonesian certified plant-based chef. He then built Moksa from the ground up, a restaurant rooted in living foods, local ingredients, and the belief that eating well and eating beautifully are not a compromise.
EVENTS & HAPPENINGS
28 MAY 2026, 15:00–17:30
UBUD FOOD FESTIVAL at Indus Restaurant
Private Event : ADORE Chef’s Table with
Gareth Whitton
BRCA had a wonderful experience collaborating with Ubud Food Festival and Adore for an inspiring evening event. BRCA’s President, Ni Nyoman Kertawidyawati, had the honour of moderating the evening, leading an engaging fireside conversation with world-renowned Australian pastry chef Gareth Whitton and Adore’s founder, Riza Kamal Shadiq.
The event was warm and engaging, with Chef Gareth captivating the audience through a live demonstration of his exceptional pastry skills, crafting exquisite desserts using Adore’s premium Cocoa and Vanilla products. The conversation explored the themes of craftsmanship, consistency, and the art of modern pastry, offering guests a rare and intimate glimpse into the minds of two passionate advocates for quality Indonesian ingredients and world-class culinary excellence. The room was packed as the BRCA and Ubud Food Festival communities came together for a truly memorable evening. See you next year!
EVENTS & HAPPENINGS
30 – 31 MAY 2026
ECO TOURISM WEEK at Meru Sanur
BRCA was glad to take part in an inspiring sustainability event, opening a booth over two days and joining a vibrant community of like-minded organisations. The event offered panel discussions, presentations by impactful businesses, and an awards ceremony recognising outstanding sustainable hospitality businesses.
We are delighted to share that four BRCA members received awards: Mozaic Restaurant, Revivo Wellness Resort, The Edge, and Apurva Kempinski. A truly great event for building connections, knowledge, and celebrating sustainability in hospitality.
5 JUNE 2026
“Nothing Wasted”
(World Environment Day) by
Wonderspace at Terra Verte
BRCA joined forces with Wonderspace, part of Ini Vie Hospitality, to celebrate World Environment Day with a meaningful evening centred around food waste awareness in hospitality.
The event featured a panel discussion with Naomi Festilani (BRCA), Ima Rida (Magi Farm), Buya Istiqlal (Urban Compost), Mercia Nanholy (Eco Tourism Bali), and Joshua Purwo Caroko (Executive Chef, Revivo Wellness Resort), followed by a Zero Waste Dinner crafted by Chef Armen of Wonderspace.
EVENTS & HAPPENINGS
BRCA LUNCHEON at
Panda Kitchen
You’re invited to the next BRCA Luncheon:
8 July 2026, 12 PM Onward at Panda Kitchen.
Jl. Bypass Ngurah Rai No.476, Sanur Kauh, Denpasar Selatan, Kota Denpasar, Bali
Speakers:
Danti Yuliandari, Founder of Myneuver International – Brand Strategies and Communications Agency
Topic: GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) for Restaurants and Cafes
Made Masak, Nomadic Cook & Forager – Food, Culture & Nature Educator
Topic: The Forgotten Pantry: Rediscovering Bali’s Wild and Indigenous Ingredients – “From Weed to Wisdom”
Thank You to Our Sponsors & Partners
Building Together, Growing Together
None of what we do happens alone. Behind every event, discussion, and collaboration are businesses and partners who believe in the same thing we do: that a stronger community makes a stronger industry.
To our sponsors and partners, thank you for showing up, not just with support, but with genuine investment in where Bali’s hospitality and F&B scene is heading. That means more than any formal acknowledgement could express.
OUR SPONSORS
BRCA SUSTAINABILITY CORNER
From Eco Tourism Week: Sustainable Businesses
BRCA x Eco Tourism Week: The Green Innovators.
Eco Tourism Week was a massive vibe! Beyond setting up our BRCA booth for two days and meeting incredible people, we got a serious masterclass in sustainability. We connected with some incredibly inspiring eco-brands that are changing the game for hospitality, and you know we aren’t keeping these gems to ourselves. Here are the changemakers you need to know about:
Pristinz
Pristinz is completely rethinking glass by turning windows into active climate solutions. Designed perfectly for the tropics, their smart Sunshield Film and Anti-Thermal Glass block out heat and UV rays to slash AC bills while keeping your spaces bright and crystal clear. Even cooler? Their Solar Window tech turns vertical glass façades into transparent, clean-energy generators. It’s high-performance sustainability made effortless.
Waterhub
WaterHub is tackling single-use plastic with a high-tech, decentralized drinking water network. Spot their smart stations across Bali, Jakarta, and major festivals. You just scan a QR code with your phone to dispense chilled, multi-step filtered water straight into your reusable tumbler. Venues can sponsor them so refills are totally free for guests, and the app even tracks your saved plastic and CO2 emissions in real time. It’s hydration, upgraded.
Noovoleum
Noovoleum turns Indonesia’s used cooking oil problem into a paid recycling network. Households and small food businesses drop off their used cooking oil at “UCOllect” boxes installed in convenience stores and gas stations. The box automatically tests the oil’s quality, and if it passes, the person gets paid instantly in cash through the app, currently around Rp 5,500 per liter. The collected oil, roughly 100 tonnes a month, is then sold on to buyers and aggregators, with a portion eventually processed into biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel.
BRCA SUSTAINABILITY CORNER
Shiva Industries
Shiva Industries is tackling Bali’s organic waste crisis head-on with their brilliant, locally built aerobic digesters. Instead of letting kitchen scraps head to the landfill where they create harmful methane, their compact, zero-emission machines turn massive volumes of food waste into high-quality, nutrient-rich compost in just 24 hours. They even offer a flexible rental pilot program, making it incredibly easy for commercial kitchens and resorts to cut down their carbon footprint with zero upfront hassle.
Seven Clean Seas
Seven Clean Seas runs its Bali project from Tanjung Benoa, a coastline where rivers and drainage channels funnel inland waste straight into the sea, making it one of the island’s most exposed entry points for plastic pollution. At the heart of the operation is OTTER (Offshore & Tidal Trash Extraction Rig), a nearshore cleanup vessel donated by MOL Indonesia, that patrols the Serangan–Benoa corridor daily, intercepting plastic before it can drift further offshore.
Once collected, the waste is processed at a nearby TPS3R facility, a community-based site built around the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle model, in partnership with local authorities and residents. It’s Seven Clean Seas’ fourth project in the region, turning Bali’s high-profile plastic crisis into a hands-on, community-rooted cleanup effort rather than an outside fix.
Z Bio
ZBIO is building an answer, and it involves maggots, specifically, black soldier fly larvae that devour collected food waste and convert it into protein-rich animal feed within weeks, far faster than traditional composting. What they leave behind (frass) becomes organic fertilizer, so nothing gets wasted twice.
With Suwung TPA, Bali’s main landfill, now barred from accepting organic waste and headed for full closure later this year, ZBIO collects food waste straight from kitchens and runs it through this maggot-powered system, feeding the output back to local farms that supply the same restaurants and hotels it came from. It’s not just a feel-good story; it’s becoming the infrastructure fix Bali’s waste crisis actually needs.
THE F&B LOOP
10 Questions With Chef Iwan Sutrisno of
The Kelusa at Samsara Ubud
A Man Behind Jungle View Culinary Treasures of The Kelusa
Chef Iwan Sutrisno has spent over 17 years cooking across luxury hotels and fine dining restaurants, mastering everything from French and Mediterranean to Pan- Asian cuisine. But at The Kelusa, he’s found his sweet spot. Indonesian soul meets global technique, and the results are quietly bold. Think Betutu Ayam stuffed into Cannelloni, or Gado-Gado reimagined with Bedugul vegetables and citrus peanut sauce. A regular at the Ubud Food Festival, Chef Iwan is the kind of cook who respects tradition deeply enough to know exactly when to break it. We sat down with him for a quick chat.
QUESTION 01
When did you first know you wanted to be a chef?
When I was ten years old, watching my mother prepare our daily meals. Those moments never left me.
QUESTION 02
What ingredient do you always reach for simply because you adore it?
Lemongrass and ginger. Always.
QUESTION 03
What’s your favourite restaurant when you’re the one being fed?
For me it’s never about the restaurant, it’s about the dish. And whenever I get the chance, I always find myself craving nasi padang.
QUESTION 04
What is the one rule in your kitchen that is absolutely non-negotiable?
Respect for one another. Always and without exception.
THE F&B LOOP
QUESTION 05
If someone is visiting Bali for the very first time, what local dish must they try to truly understand the culinary soul of the island?
Babi guling and lawar. No question.
QUESTION 06
Many chefs talk about sourcing locally, but what does honoring and celebrating a local ingredient actually mean to you and your cooking philosophy?
It starts with truly understanding the ingredient, its benefits, its role in each dish, its impact on health. But it goes beyond that too. It’s about the people behind it, how guests connect with it, and the stories it carries. All of that matters to me.
QUESTION 07
Looking back at your 17-year career in the kitchen, what has been your biggest achievement or happiest moment so far?
Becoming an Executive Chef is something I’m proud of. But my happiest moments are simpler, seeing people smile because of something I made. That never gets old.
QUESTION 08
Who is the chef that inspires you most, and who would you love to cook with someday?
Chef Raymond Saja. Both answers, one name.
QUESTION 09
Does the jungle setting of The Kelusa influence how you cook?
Absolutely. You can’t be surrounded by all of this beauty and not feel it in everything you do.
QUESTION 10
When a guest finishes a meal at The Kelusa, what is the exact feeling you want them to leave with?
I want them to leave curious, wondering who is the chef behind these dishes that create such amazing dishes. And I want the food to stay with them long enough that coming back feels like something they just have to do, no matter what.
BALI TOURISM & HOSPITALITY
Bali Tourism Snapshot
April 2026
By the Numbers (Based on BPS April 2026 Data):
- Foreign Arrivals: BPS recorded 553,328 direct foreign tourist visits to Bali in April, representing a 17.21% increase from March’s visits. Australian tourists anchored the market, dominating arrivals at 26.46%.
- Star-Rated Occupancy: The Room Occupancy Rate (TPK) for starred hotels landed at 57.94% (a 5.40 percentage point increase from March). BPS highlights a solid 0.71-point increase year-on-year compared to April 2025.
- Non-Star Accommodations: The occupancy rate for non-starred hotels and alternative accommodations held steady at 34.81%, up slightly by 1.49 percentage points from March.
May 2026
Bali’s tourism momentum continues to build in 2026. As we await the official announcement from BPS for May 2026, data from Dinas Pariwisata Bali (DPB) and IHGMA suggest:
- Foreign arrivals in May reached 600,742 pax according to temporary data from Ngurah Rai Immigration, bringing the January to May total to 2,798,341, or 42.24% of the 6.625 million annual target.
- The economy grew at 5.58% in Q1 with inflation at a healthy 0.42%, a positive sign for the industry.
- Australia remains the top source market by a significant margin at 25.16% of arrivals, followed by India, China, France, and the United Kingdom. A total of 39 airlines currently support connectivity to Bali, with 6,075 international flights recorded in May alone.
- On the domestic front, 4,001,898 domestic visitors arrived between January and May 2026.
- Hotel occupancy for classified properties averaged 55.65% for the first four months of the year, with an average length of stay of 2.83 days for the same period.
- Looking ahead, demand forecasts across Seminyak, Kuta, Ubud, Sanur, and the Southern Peninsula all point to elevated to high demand in July and August, with very high demand expected across all areas in late December, signalling a strong year-end peak season.
*Data May are temporary figures from Ngurah Rai Immigration
SIGNING UP INVITATIONS
SIGNING UP
INVITATIONS TO
OUR INDUSTRY
COLLEAGUES
Where Bali’s F&B
Community Connects
Behind every great meal, every memorable stay, every meaningful hospitality experience in Bali, there are people who truly care about what they do.
BRCA exists as a home for those people. A community rooted in collaboration, cultural respect, and a shared love for Bali’s extraordinary culinary landscape. From sustainability to gastronomy, we are here to support the industry and the people who make it exceptional.
We also welcome sponsors and partners who share our vision of supporting Bali’s hospitality and F&B industry.
For membership and sponsorship opportunities, reach out to Naomi at manager@balirca.id
Closing BRCA & You!
When one thinks of Asia’s major culinary hubs, it’s Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Bangkok that spring to mind. But it’s high time for Bali, with her beautifully potent blend of local gastronomic traditions and international influences, to be added to that list.” — Condé Nast Traveler
That vision is exactly what drives us. Our mission at BRCA is to actively champion Bali’s evolution into a world-class culinary capital, while ensuring we protect and honor the unique local roots that define it. A mission this big requires a strong, active leadership core. We are looking for dedicated industry professionals to serve alongside us on the board. If you have the drive to help guide our strategy and collaborate with us to strengthen Bali’s F&B ecosystem, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to get involved.
Founders
Dean Keddell – Ginger Moon Restaurants & Author of Our Bali
Your Bali – Bali Kita Bali Kamu
Chris Salans – Mozaic
Anthony Syrowatka – Viceroy Hotel, Aperitif, Blossom + others & Gaia Digital Marketing Agency
Board
Weni Ariasty – Manager NOW! Bali & the BRCA treasurer
Ana Dewi – Mövenpick Resort & Spa Jimbaran Bali – HACCP
Peter Dundas – Advisor
Maria Efflin – Secretary/Administrator, BRCA
Naomi Tribuana Festilani – Business and Community Manager BRCA
Rahmi Fajar Harini – Eco Tourism Bali & sustainability champion
Kertawidyawati (Widya) – BRCA President
Maudy Maha – Marketing Advisor
Jeroen Van Overbeek – Social Impakt, Bali Coop & BRCA Vice President
Min Siah – Wheatfields Bakery, Starter Lab – Advisor
Heru Dwi Soesilo – 2080 Burger & an events, branding & marketing guru
Thank you for reading this newsletter. Sampai Jumpa!
Welcome New Members to BRCA!
With culinary regards,
Naomi Tribuana Festilani
Business & Community Manager BRCA
On Behalf of BRCA Founders & Board
