The Glory of Food at the Upcoming Ubud Writers & Readers Festival

Posted by OmarTarakiNiodeFoundation
18 August 2013 | news

The Omar Niode Foundation is proud to be among the Festival Friends of the 2013 Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, one of the top literary festivals in the world.

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This year the Festival celebrates its 10-year anniversary from 11-15 October and honors Indonesia’s women’s rights pioneer R.A Kartini with its theme ‘Through Darkness to Light / Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang.’

Founded and directed by Janet DeNeefe, the Festival will welcome more than 160 accomplished writers, performers, artists, musicians and visionaries to the magical setting of Ubud, to speak across all forms of storytelling – from travel writing to songwriting, plays, poetry, comedy and graphic novels.

 

Along with the 75 panel discussions of the main program held daily at the Festival’s three main venues, more than 40 other venues across Ubud will play host to special events. The full program will see 18 book launches, 15 literary workshops, 16 special events and 6 film screenings.

Perhaps because Janet DeNeefe is also a food writer (read our earlier blog post Janet DeNeefe, Bali’s Culinary Impresario , the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival glorifies food through a number of events.

We have chosen some in the program that will be of interest to food lovers while thinking about what Adam Gopnik wrote for The New Yorker many years ago:  No matter how much cooking a novel contains, in the end it goes back to being a book, as all books will. Even cookbooks are finally more book than they are cook, and, more and more, we know it: for every novel that contains a recipe, there is now a recipe book meant to be read as a novel.

Two men who have dedicated their lives to spices: Ian Hemphill – a modern-day spice merchant and Ian Burnet – authority on Indonesia’s spice islands and trade will share their exotic journey from India to Indonesia along the legendary spice route, and discuss the romance of spices and their impact on the modern world. The main program will also feature David Sly, an Australian freelance writer and editor who has a wealth of experience in food and wine writing.

Is Rendang, voted the most delicious food in the world, truly Indonesian? Is the best satay found in Malaysia? Through this main program, Chefs William Wongso and Farah Quinn of Indonesia meet the opposition, Chef Wan, Malaysian celebrity chef, in a verbal cook-off of spiced anecdotes about what makes Indonesian and Malaysian food so exquisite.

Three of the planet’s most accomplished travel writers – Don George, called a legendary travel writer and editor by the National Geographic; and Tony and Maureen Wheeler, founders of The Lonely Planet, will discuss over lunch who has inspired their travel writing and where on the planet there is left to write about. These seasoned adventurers with their unrivaled anecdotes and travel tales will join an intimate audience at Alila Resort.

A cultural workshop to awaken all senses through a guided tour in Ubud market talks about the herbs and spices used in ceremonial and everyday Balinese dishes. A Cooking School follows to help prepare a lavish Balinese feast – with a glass or two of local rice wine or chilled hibiscus tea.

A special event that looks at the joys and challenges of writing about food – the recipes, the stories, and close encounters of a culinary kind. This year, Tracey Lister – Director of the Hanoi Cooking Center and Melbourne chef; her husband, writer and educator Andreas Pohl; and Mark Lowerson, co-director of Hanoi Street Food Tours, will bring a taste of Vietnam to Ubud.

Chef patron Chris Salans made Mozaic into Asia’s 50 Best Rrestaurants 2013 through its Franco-Indonesian food. Mozaic: French Cuisine, Balinese Flavours is a 144-page literary work that combines the story of Chef Salans’ journey in Indonesia, his discovery of the island’s ingredients and the birth of Mozaic Restaurant. As part of the festival, a workshop offers cooking classes that teach about Indonesian ingredients and how to use them in Western cuisine.

Leading literary gentlemen Tash Aw, Glen Duncan, Richard Flanagan, Alain Mabanckou, Kim Scott & David Vann come together on this special evening in Ubud to share four courses of divine food, matched with delicious wine and stories. This is an event to hear some of the most interesting voices in American, Australian, British, French & Malaysian literature today in the gorgeous setting of Bridges Restaurant, overlooking Wos River.

The Tipping Point will discuss what will happen to Bali, a civilization built upon agriculture & paddy fields that now sees a land conversion rate of nearly 1,000 hectares per year and an economy relying almost exclusively on tourism. The event will feature anthropologist J. Stephen Lansing; writer, actor and musician, Ketut Yuliarsa, poet and novelist Oka Rusmini; and photographer and writer, Rio Helmi.

In this special event to celebrate rice, the most important ingredient in Indonesian cooking, anthropologist J. Stephen Lansing will discuss his lifelong passion for Bali’s majestic paddy fields and his part in creating the UNESCO world-heritage site of Jati Luwih. Ian Burnet will spice it up with swashbuckling stories of the ancient spice trade of the East Indies, while Janet DeNeefe will share tales from Fragrant Rice, a journey into the rich texture of Balinese life.

Aside from the events outlined above, during the 2013 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, Ubud will be buzzing with live music and performances, food and art markets and parties that run late into the night. The full program, with all guest speakers and session details is available here.

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Images:  Alexandar Todorovic Oksix, Toonman, Tatiana Morozova/Shutterstock, Ubud Writers and Readers Festival