One of the most unexpected surprises of the FAM trip up to Sheraton Bali Kuta was a Kitchen Table style dinner organized on the second night. The night before we had had a sumptuous Italian home style meal at Bene, so we knew good food was ahead.
We were led down to the restaurant Feast, but things started getting curious when we were not shown to any tables, but instead directed to some doors by the side instead. Venturing within, we were led into the heart of where all the food magic happens – the kitchens of Feast! The place was very clean – I expected it to be relatively clean because of food hygiene practices of course, but this surpassed my expectations.
Chef Rossano on the right, as his chefs introduce their work station
Head Chef Rossano Rezelli welcomed us into his domain and announced that our group was embarking on the inaugural Sheraton Kitchen Table, a monthly affair that Sheraton was starting exclusively to thank their VIP partners and loyal guests – so exclusively you can only be invited and it’s not something you can book! Exciting stuff~
The kitchen tour was quite fascinating; we were shuttled from station to station, where the chefs were cooking up a storm in preparation for the buffet and dinners currently happening in the restaurant outside, so there was quite a flurry going on. Besides explaining and demonstrating the various food preparation stations, we were kept well fed as well, with tasting portions of each dish at each station presented to us, often on smaller versions kitchen utensils. Armed with a plastic spoon and eating out of plastic containers and little saucepans was great fun.
The chef served up some pretty tasty Nasi Padang in miniature saucepans. Very yummy!
Sharing some Buntut, or Oxtail Soup with Chris. Bit awkward with the plastic spoons, but man this was sooooo tasty. I got to eat it in a proper bowl at brunch the next day.
Finally if you didn’t think it could get any better, we ended up in the dessert prep room where the tables had been rearranged and we were invited to be seated for the rest of dinner. I was already half full by that time and wondered what other fabulous surprises they could serve up!
If you’re thinking it looks smoky, that’s because they had some fancy dry ice action happening when we entered. Very 5th Element, but a pretty cool transformation of what is normally the pastry prep room!
Hand written menu for the Kitchen Table Aug 2013 And what was the capsicum doing on the table? Well it was a pretty awesome wine glass!
The dinner continued to be entertaining, and educational even, as there were little lessons on lots more food prep.
Tempering chocolate is a pretty tedious and messy process. The resulting creations are pretty amazing though!
The food was also pretty outstanding. I was literally on the edge of bursting by the time we were done! all this time, available chefs and staff hovered around and ensured we were always well taken care off.
Some of the awesome dishes from the sit-down bit (clockwise from top left: super tender lamp chops of which I had capacity for only 1 pc, a heartwarming lobster bouillabaisse, lemongrass salmon, a RIDICULOUSLY yummerlicious chocolate lava cake which we gobbled down with ice cream, and an icy blackberry granita that tasted like ribena goodness
It was actually a heart-shape but I got hungry, and it was filled with NUTELLA OMG I HAD AT LEAST THREE.
By the time the meal finally came to an end, we were presented with one last token of appreciation. I don’t quite know what I’ll do with a mini mortar and pestle since I’m functionally useless in the kitchen, but it was a nice takeaway and reminder of the dinner, along with a clean version of the handwritten menu :)
All in all, an awesome treat! I’ve never been much of a foodie but this special behind the scenes treat was something I really enjoyed thoroughly, and made me appreciate all the good food that weekend so much more.
All the chefs making sure we were well taken care of the entire night!
Thank you once again to Chef Rossano and all the wonderful staff of Sheraton Bali Kuta for this amazing experience. You should know that after they turned us out of the kitchen, the bunch of us staggered to the pool side to just lie down for a bit because we were so damn full of good food. I swear I was still full the next morning.
You can still enjoy Chef Rossano’s food at the Sheraton Bali Kuta at Feast or Bene. Unfortunately, the Kitchen Table experience is limited to VVIPs that Sheraton will personally invite to partake in. Read more about my thoughts on the food at Sheraton Bali Kuta, or find out more about the hotel itself.
This dinner and trip was hosted by Sheraton Bali Kuta. All opinions are my own.