Heinz van Holzen, chef extraordinaire

By Grace Segran

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): On my second trip to Bali a couple of years ago, our host said we had to dine at Bumbu Bali, which served authentic Balinese food. We did more than that. Bumbu Bali provided an unforgettable cultural experience, and the beginning of a friendship with Heinz van Holzen, its chef and proprietor.

Holzen was born in Stans, Switzerland, in 1958. His wife Puji comes from Singaraja, Bali, and works with him at the restaurant and cooking school. They have a son, Fabian, now 8 years old.

Holzen started as an apprentice chef in 1975 at the Hotel de la Paix in Lucerne, Switzerland. "My basic training was in classical French cooking," he said. He worked his way up and eastwards when he joined the Hilton chain of hotels, which took him to Adelaide, Melbourne and Singapore. He later joined Hyatt in Singapore and became chef des cuisines in 1988.

He came to Bali as Grand Hyatt's opening Executive Chef in September 1990, and has since made Bali his home. He left Ritz- Carlton in August 1997 to open Bumbu Bali, Restaurant & Cooking School, on Dec. 1, 1997

Bumbu Bali was Holzen's brainchild. Many attest that it is the only Balinese restaurant where diners can enjoy the tantalizing flavors of the island in an authentic Balinese setting.

"In Bali almost all restaurants serve a similar line of food. A bit of Indonesian, a bit of Italian, a bit of French and then of course Cap Cai. At Bumbu Bali, we serve only Balinese food," said Holzen.

According to Holzen, it is extremely difficult to find real Balinese food in Bali unless one is invited to someone's home or to a ceremony. Moreover, in Bali most street food is prepared by Javanese vendors, not Balinese.

"Funnily enough, when I arrived here, the Balinese chefs asked me how to prepare their local cuisine!" he remembered with a laugh. "As we had 150 chefs on our team, we had lots of talent available. I then organized a cooking competition among the chefs and asked them to prepare dishes that they would cook at home. The result was fantastic and we were overwhelmed by the variety of dishes and flavors available."

Holzen then took photos of those dishes and scribbled down the basic recipes. Thus began the exciting journey toward developing authentic Balinese cuisine for Bumbu Bali.

Shortly afterward he met a publisher, who was interested in producing a book on the food of Bali. Prior to this, no recipe book on Balinese cuisine existed, he assured me. Thus The Food of Bali, written and photographed by Holzen, was published by Periplus and has since become the authority on Balinese food.

One other interesting feature of Bumbu Bali is the Cooking Class, which is conducted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday running from dawn until early afternoon. It attracts many interested travelers who want to learn the basics of Balinese cuisine from the master.

"We follow the recipes from the book and use them in our cooking classes," he says.

Bumbu Bali combines all the traditional elements of a Balinese home and the warm and friendly hospitality of the Balinese. In September 1999 it was voted Best Restaurant in Bali by the Bali government and in March 2000, it went on to win Best Restaurant in Indonesia in a survey conducted by Asia Travel Magazine. No wonder it is so difficult to get a seat in the evenings without a reservation!

In December 1999, Holzen was voted one of Bali's 21 Most Influential Personalities by readers of Bali's largest English newspaper, for his contribution in promoting Balinese food as part of Bali's heritage.

Holzen is also an avid photographer and combines his hobby with his passion for cooking. He did the photography of several cookbooks including Food of Indonesia, Food of Japan and Food of Vietnam.

Lately he has been dabbling in property and has developed and designed luxury villas called Rumah Bali, which was opened in December, 1999.

This busy man has one other passion for which he is well known -- turtle conservation. On one of our visits to Bumbu Bali, we watched enthusiastically as Holzen and other environmentalists released baby turtles into the sea. You can see what he is doing for the turtles at www.balifood.com/turtles.

So if you get a chance to visit Bumbu Bali, let Holzen whet your appetite for good food and warm Balinese hospitality, and enthrall you with his passion for cooking, cook books, property and turtles.