Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine July 2014

Explore | Interview 97 a variety of languages but also with long working hours, starting at 7am and working through until one or two the following morning. “It’s important to remember that the road is long and sometimes hard, but if you are willing to develop a passion for what you do, this can be one of the most rewarding jobs around,” he explains. This dedication saw his career soar to a point where he became a gold medallist at the Terinex Master Chefs Grand Prix London. And now Ranu has taken the next step in his career, having taken up residence at Conrad Bali, where he has recently introduced a new menu across all of its food and beverage outlets. Subtle changes have been made to the indigenous dishes of Indonesia, and Bali in particular, infusing various ingredients learned from his time in the Middle East. A medley of seafood and tortellini with a Balinese twist from Chef Ranu’s new menu. This practice of fusion is common, but he stresses, “One has to be careful not to overpower the essence of time-honoured Balinese cuisine.” Ranu has a passion for locally sourced and preferably organically grown produce, which provides the basis for his farm-to-plate menu. Fruits, vegetables and herbs are sourced from various organic farms across Bali, although his preferred choice is the ROLE (Rivers, Oceans, Lands and Ecology) Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that supports financially disadvantaged families from the surrounding community. We take an hour or two to travel to the ROLE Foundation’s farm on the outskirts of Nusa Dua, where Ranu is immediately at home with the local farmers. His excitement is palpable as he picks items fresh from the vines and asks us to inhale the scents. “In the Middle East virtually everything is imported, whereas here,” he says, waving his arms to indicate the luscious surrounds, “we can obtain the freshest herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables almost on our doorstep.” He then breaks open a passion fruit and hands it to me. “It’s like nectar,” he says, and I concur: it’s delicious! Back at the hotel, Ranu also has to train and motivate more than a hundred staﬀ, which requires a particular management style. “We prepare, refine, prepare again and refine once more until everyone is satisfied that we have achieved the best possible outcome. I try to spend as much of my day as possible circulating throughout The edible rosella flower is known as asam belanda in Indonesian. the kitchens checking for that most vital ingredient: consistency.” He maintains that if his staﬀ are having fun and loving what they do, the consistency an d quality of the dishes will continue to improve. His mantra is to always maintain consistency in taste and presentation. “Once you have achieved consistency across all of the items on the menu, the executive chef and the staﬀ are in sync. A new menu can so easily fail if every staﬀ member is not completely intimate with each and every dish that we create,” Ranu explains. The beauty and tranquillity of the island have made him feel right at home again. As Ranu so succinctly puts it, “In the end one has to admit that really, when it comes down to it, home is where the heart is.” Executive Chef Ranu Irawan’s new menu was launched across Conrad Bali in May 2014. www.conradbali.com/dining-bars/ eight-degrees-south Sourcing new organic ingredients at the ROLE Foundation site in south Bali.

Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine July 2014 | Page 99