DENPASAR, balitourismnow.com – The 11th Ubud Food Festival is just two weeks away, taking place from May 28 to 31, 2026. Over the course of four days, this culinary event will present a series of exciting collaborations featuring some of Southeast Asia’s finest chefs. Held at Taman Kuliner, the festival will bring together chefs, farmers, artisan producers, artists, and food enthusiasts in a vibrant and colorful celebration of food.
“This year’s program is truly special, featuring an impressive lineup of international talents that should not be missed. One of the most exciting highlights of this year’s Ubud Food Festival is the special collaborations that unite Indonesia’s top chefs with renowned chefs from across Asia,” said Founder and Director Janet DeNeefe during a press conference at Artotel Sanur on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
In addition to Janet DeNeefe, the conference also featured several other speakers, including Chairman of the Mudra Swari Saraswati Foundation Dr. Drs. I Ketut Suardana, M.Fil.H.; organic farming pioneer, academic, lecturer, and researcher at Udayana University Prof. Ni Luh Kartini; mixology expert Bili Wirawan; and the leader of Syrco BASÈ, Chef Syrco Bakker. The session was moderated by Festival Manager Dwi Ermayanthi.
Carrying the theme “Farmers: Guardians of Land and Sea,” the Ubud Food Festival will feature a wide range of programs including Cooking Demos, Food Talks, Special Events, Chef’s Tables, Masterclasses, and the ever-popular free Food Market, along with many other attractions. “Ubud Food Festival will present many programs and truly provide an opportunity for amazing farmers to share their voices,” Janet DeNeefe said enthusiastically.
Ketut Suardana stated that the 11th Ubud Food Festival serves as a platform to promote Bali to the international community. Chefs from various countries will showcase modern dishes while emphasizing aesthetic values in their culinary approach. “We chose Ubud as a place for culinary creativity because it has a strategic position and a long history in tourism activities. From a business perspective, this location holds strong value. Ubud contributes greatly to the culinary world,” he explained.
Ubud has become an icon of Bali tourism, and even Indonesian tourism as a whole. Long before Indonesia gained independence, around 1930–1931, Ubud had already participated in the Paris Expo. Since then, the name Ubud has resonated internationally. Dancers, travelers, and painters later chose to settle in Ubud. “This culinary festival is held in Ubud because of its place and spirit. Business people in Ubud realize that what they create becomes part of an offering,” he added.
Chef Syrco Bakker, a Dutch-born chef, will appear with the same cooking style he applies while leading Syrco BASÈ. The two-Michelin-star chef will play an important role in introducing local ingredients from the surrounding area, proving that they are equal in quality to imported products. “At the Ubud Food Festival, I will also host a culinary event featuring chefs from Australia,” he revealed.
Meanwhile, Bili Wirawan will coordinate the mixology competition that will enliven the 2026 Ubud Food Festival. Through the festival, he plans to collaborate with chefs to elevate local mixology. This means introducing local ingredients that can be transformed into refreshing and beneficial beverages. “Through this competition, I want to rediscover forgotten native ingredients, whether from fruits, tubers, or leaves. These are the ingredients I want to revive,” he said passionately.
Prof. Kartini added that local ingredients are incredibly abundant and simply need the right platform to be introduced to a wider audience. “Bali is actually organic by nature. Whatever is produced in Bali is always authentic. Unfortunately, this authenticity is often damaged by chemical farming practices. This festival brings farmers together with entrepreneurs,” she explained. “When farmers are brought together with the government, communication is sometimes disconnected. Direct collaboration between farmers and entrepreneurs is the best approach,” she concluded.
This Year’s Chef’s Table Program
Amongst those regional stars is Australian pastry Chef Kate Reid, founder of Lune Croissanterie and former Formula 1 aerodynamicist, who hosts an intimate conversation at Indus Restaurant, weaving together the unlikely story behind the world’s most obsessed-over croissants. Rising from the ovens of the island’s finest bakeries, Kate will also co-judge the finest butter croissant in Bali and crown the Best Croissant in Bali 2026 at Indus.
Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan plays host to a one-night-only dinner between Chef Frank Camorra of Melbourne’s MoVida and Chef Andrés Becerra of Canggu’s beloved Santanera, a reunion of old friends whose culinary paths first crossed more than a decade ago. Six courses drawing on the fire, salt, and exuberance of Spain and Latin America, from signature woodfired dishes to a saffron-rich paella and a dessert or two well worth lingering over.
For one night only, two award-winning chefs join forces: Australian Chef Ben Devlin, Executive Chef and Owner of Pipit in Byron Bay, teams up with Dutch-Indonesian Chef Syrco Bakker at his acclaimed Syrco BASÈ, delivering a refined menu shaped by Bali’s rich terroir and native Australian flavours, driven by local produce, creativity, and precision.
Turning to the Indonesian lineup, Jakarta Chef Jovan Koraag of Mata Karanjang brings the bold, smoke-kissed flavours of North Sulawesi to Casa Luna’s lush jungle setting for the festival’s famous Long Table Lunch, rooted in Minahasan tradition. On the table: bamboo-cooked pork, woku-spiced fish roe, forest fruits fermented in saguer vinegar, and the quiet comfort of Klappertart alongside local coffee.
Devoted custodian of Indonesian culinary heritage, Chef Ragil Imam Wibowo of Nusa Gastronomy takes over DI SINI DI SANA by Rachman & Sons for a family lunch and dinner dedicated to one of the archipelago’s most elemental ingredients: the banana. Together with the restaurant’s Executive Chef T.J., the two bring heritage recipes, fire, fermentation, and spice to an old-world Javanese dining room, a meal as much about ritual as it is about eating.
Overlooking Ubud’s sweeping valley, Samsara plays host to a charged three-way collaboration between Chef Kieran Morland of Luma Bali, Chef Fernando Sindu of Salira by Union Group, and celebrated Indonesian chef and television personality Renatta Moeloek. Bound by a curiosity for indigenous ingredients and contemporary technique, the three craft an evening of bespoke cocktails and bold culinary ideas, precisely the kind the Festival was built for.
This year’s Chef’s Table series at Indus draws together some of Asia and South America’s most compelling voices. Two of Thailand’s sharpest kitchen minds, Chef Prin Polsuk and Chef Joe Napol, join forces with Head Chef of Fu House Aaron Pribadi, for a chef’s table that crackles with fire, instinct, and bold Thai-inspired flavour.
Equally electric, Chef Abel Ortiz, the Peruvian mastermind behind Hong Kong’s Chullschick, brings cooking that is precise, rooted, and quietly electric, alongside Chilean Chef Cristian Encina of PICA in Ubud, whose Escabeche Causa layers flavour with a confidence that speaks to a continent’s worth of culinary intelligence.
Steeped in a different kind of tradition, Malaysia’s most beloved culinary icon Chef Wan takes to the pass to prepare his Nyonya Laksa live. Drawn from his grandmother’s recipe and centuries of Peranakan heritage, the bowl is built on coconut, curry leaf, and tamarind: creamy, spiced, and steeped in a lifetime of telling Malaysia’s food story to the world.
No less rooted in heritage, Chef Agus of Ron Gastrobar and Helianti Hilman, Indonesia’s foremost champion of indigenous ingredients, arrive at the pass not just with recipes but with a map drawn in flavour and memory. Through nypah, coconut, the brooding depth of kluwak, palm sugar, and the ancient craft of traditional salt-making, the two trace the culinary soul of the Nusantara.
Adding to an already compelling lineup, the Festival’s popular Masterclasses once again invite visitors into the kitchen alongside acclaimed chefs, learning iconic dishes and exploring the traditions that inspire them. Among the highlights, Kokokan Restaurant at Kappa Senses opens its doors with resident Chefs Victorien Bayet and Kadek Dwi Kurniawan, demonstrating appetisers and desserts drawn from the farmers and fishermen who steward Bali’s land and sea.
“Our Chef’s Tables and Masterclasses once again bring Indonesia’s finest chefs and the region’s culinary stars in front of a wider audience, and that, at its core, is the essence of our Festival,” said Founder and Director Janet DeNeefe. “These sessions are about sparking curiosity, deepening appreciation for the world’s culinary traditions, and leaving people hungry to know more.” [buda]