The beach club at Puri Santrian was the great venue for the Bali Restaurant and Café Association’s (BRCA) second luncheon and welcomed three VIP guests and an important speaker, as the association begins to consolidate its position as the leaders in the culinary business in Bali.
Guests were welcomed to the second floor of the beach club in Sanur by NOW! Bali’s founder Alistair Speirs who has been assisting the BRCA board with the setup of the association. He emphasised the need for the group to become the spokespeople for the dining scene in Bali to help it sell itself up against the Asian heavyweights like Singapore and Hong Kong who boast of their dining scenes, while Bali remains silent but unbelievably good!
This was re-emphasised by the VIP’s guests who took turns to support the association’s aims and to reaffirm the importance of the culinary scene in the marketing mix for Bali. First to speak was Ida Bagus Sidharta Putra, more commonly referred to as Gusde, who is the PHRI (Hotel & Restaurant Association’s Vice Chairman and was also representing the Vice Governor of Bali ‘Cok Ace’. The second speaker was Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana or ‘Gus Agung’, the Chairman of The Bali Tourism Board (BTB) who updated the group on all the many actions being taken to revitalise Bali tourism. Both are also part of the owning family of the iconic Santrian Group in Bali.
While a delicious three course lunch was being served (and Hatten Wines, Bintang Beer and Balian water enjoyed) the main speaker made his presentation. Sean Nino from Mantra (PT Mantra Bali), a leading Environmental Engineering and Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) Consultancy based on the island. Sean, accompanied by his business partner Maitri Fischer, gave a detailed and important update on the state of waste collection in Bali – which while not being at all good has glimmers of hope in some of the initiatives taken by Mantra – and what he recommended the group to do about it. We hope there will be strong support for his recommendations.
Board members Anthony Syrowatka and Dean Keddell also gave short presentations on their areas of activity: digital communications, sustainable sourcing and training, all essential components in getting the standards up and the recognition gained.
The lunch was closed by BRCA Chairwoman Kertawidyawati, or Widya, who asked all attendees to sign up as members as soon as possible, so that the association can get into full gear and help promote Bali as a safe, sustainable and desirable dining destination. BRCA aims to have 200 plus members by the end the year and become a strong marketing force for Bali.
For more information on BRCA and how to become a member, please contact secretary@BRCA.co.id
