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Four award winners from the Tatler Dining Awards, top chefs from the Philippines, join Dom Pérignon on a special culinary adventure in Bali
Tatler Dining travelled to Bali with Dom Pérignon for a unique culinary journey with four of our award winners from the 2024 Tatler Dining Awards: Stephan Duhesme (Chef of the Year, Metiz), Don Baldosano (Rising Star, Linamnam), JP Cruz (Restaurant of the Year & Best Service, Toyo Eatery), Josh Boutwood (Best Interior Design, Helm).
As we met in the airport and geared up to journey off to Indonesia, we excitedly wondered what would be in store for us from an experience created by Dom Pérignon that extended far beyond Champagne but was designed to dive into the ethos of the house.
Dom Pérignon is known for an austere dedication to its craft, the creation of spectacular, vintage-only, Champagne. The house is unafraid to take risks in the pursuit of quality and has created a lasting legacy of excellence. As a brand, they are committed to a specific level of refinement and to creating remarkable moments that extend past the manufacturing and enjoyment of Champagne. They invest in creating and seeking out fine dining experiences, aiming to develop warm moments with great connections centred around food, beverage and hospitality.
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In fact, the group has worked tirelessly to form impactful links with the chef community and to make authentic connections with producers to fully embrace the beauty of the entire F&B process from start to finish. For Dom Pérignon, their partners must also be as refined and impassioned by their craft; they must believe in the amount of love, care and attention to detail that should be infused in every step of the F&B process. Dom Perignon is not just a champagne, it's a brand with a legacy rooted in the tradition of working alongside culinary visionaries who share the same passion for excellence and craftsmanship. Devoted to quality and precision, this trip to Bali underscores the house’s deep connection to food and dining.
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After checking into Hotel Alila and exploring the breathtaking beach-front property our first stop during the trip brought us to cheesemaker Gioia Cheese. This producer proudly makes handmade artisinal cheese with original Italian recipes, crafted with organic cow's milk from Java. Upon arrival, we were met with a pungent yet beautiful aroma of a melange of cheese, seducing our senses. The facility is impressive and focused, with machines whirring about in the mozzarella production department. From a light stracciatella to creamy flavour-packed burrata, to a spicy Tomi Black Pepper, salty pecorino, or a hard, slightly herbaceous saporito, the level of quality that Gioia has mastered is noteworthy. Founder, Ilios Andreadakis toured us around and shared that since 2011 they have strived to source local farmers that would meet their quality standards and match the brand’s philosophy, a dedication to sustainability, excellent dairy products and the finest cheese. Their beautiful creations are totally organic with no preservatives or chemicals, and today boast a stunning range of 18 Italian cheeses all proudly made in Bali with raw local ingredients.
See also: Inside Davao Food and Wine Festival 2024: Chefs, bartenders, and artisans to know in Davao City
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We then toured Island Organics farm which grows over 50 cultivated varieties of herbs and vegetables with no pesticides and harmful chemicals. Since 2002 Island Organics has been perfecting their agricultural processes in order to best support the many wonderful eateries in Bali in search of fine, sustainable produce. From golden beets, to watercress, turnips, to yellow swiss chard, the chefs all eagerly got an up-close look and happily took crunchy bites out of the vegetables, plucked fresh out out of the soil.
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The group made our way to Bali Raspberry soon after, where we met co-founder Sayu Made Putri. While hyper-focused on berries, the mother company Bali Teak Farms also cultivates coffee, cacao and vanilla. Self-taught, Putri entered this nuanced industry with passion and perseverance, aiming to bring the best fresh berries to her country. She started by growing raspberries that she brought home from Italy after teaching herself how to cultivate them from a Youtube video. The property is widespread, with lucious greenery abound. The bountiful range of fresh vegetables, wild fields of flowers, and plump red raspberries certainly captivated our attention. Today the farm has over 36,000 trees on 30 hectares of land.
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The experience culminated with a special a dinner with chef Maurizio Bombini at his restaurant, the home of Dom Pérignon in Bali. In fact, Bombini proudly uses produce from Gioia Cheese, Island Organics and Bali Raspberry for his menu at Mauri! Here, he showcases elegant Italian fare, inspired by his home in the south of Italy, namely, Puglia. Bombini began his love affair with food on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, at his parents's home. His culinary career then took him around the globe, before he found a home in Bali.
Rooted in the idea of cucina povera, of peasant cooking, Bombini takes inspiration from simple, rustic, preparations fueled by authentic, gorgeous flavours, and cooking that is filled with passion. He then takes basic concepts and elevates them masterfully. Tradition meets modernity at Mauri, as the menu displays Bombini’s refined and bold perspective. The meal began with a delicate parmesan egg custard, and Japanese hamachi with pomegranate, almond, burrata, white balsamic and Osicetra caviar. We progressed to more decadent courses like some 24-month aged Parmesan ravioli with onion consommé; pasta cavatelli with a nuanced seafood ragu and sweet, firm wild prawns, and finally a flavoursome, meaty, Wagyu MB ⅞ alla brace, roasted with eggplant and sweet potato. Seated at the chef’s counter, we savoured our glasses of flowing Dom Pérignon while chatting with chef Bombini through every course, thoroughly enjoying every moment. In fact, this was a preview of the Mauri experience - which has been newly minted as part of the Dom Pérignon society in Southeast Asia, a first for Indonesia.
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From exploring Bali’s exquisite farms to picturesque strolls at the beach, leisurely moments at the beautiful Hotel Alila to a memorable degustation at Mauri, we experienced a brief yet impactful snapshot of the Dom Pérignon’s connection to the various layers of fine dining and further understood its passion for creating luxurious moments.
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About
Isabel loves to learn, and see things from different perspectives. Connecting with people and engaging in new experiences to broaden her horizons is what inspires this storyteller, keeping her constantly curious, and excited for what's to come. An absolute love for all things F&B ignited a hunger to devour content from this world and keeps her jumping into tasty adventures around the globe. From the beauty of simple bites, to nuanced fine dining tasting menus, street food, and the art of entertaining, the multi-faceted nature of the dining experience is something she can't get enough of. A good cup of coffee or a glass of wine paired with a dash of witty conversation is a quick way to win her over. This editor loves travelling, food, music, skincare, fitness, and is only friends with people who love dogs. Guilty pleasure?: Binge-watching TV shows and movies she has already seen.
Work
Concept creation is the name of the game and branding takes centre stage in Isabel's day-to-day schedule. From producing shoots, conceptualising bespoke projects for our partners, relationship management, to cooking up features and events for Tatler Dining, this editor is a tried and tested foodie at heart. She mainly writes content for Tatler Dining, engaging in captivating discussions with restaurateurs, chefs, producers, and food enthusiasts to tell must-know stories. Aside from that Isabel manages Tatler Dining's flagship events like Off Menu, or Cocktail Festival and puts together the Tatler Dining Guide, our annual listing of the best eats around town.
Follow her on Instagram @isabelvmf.
