UBUD, Bali — The chef Chris Salans bumped into a stream of fashionable European diners as they departed through the garden at Mozaic, his restaurant in Bali, and kissed each of their cheeks like a good Frenchman. But once they were out of earshot, he said in a no-nonsense American accent, "I don't normally say goodbye to all my guests that way." He explained that they were expatriates and frequent guests at Mozaic, which has become known for its innovative French cuisine laced with Indonesian flavors.
Salans, 38, who is equal parts French and American, has garnered rave reviews and recently expanded his restaurant to include a workshop, where cooking classes and private chef's tastings are held several times a week. One evening a few months ago, Mozaic buzzed with life, as every wicker chair in the 60-seat pavilion was taken by 8 o'clock. Since being accepted as a member of the French association Les Grandes Tables du Monde in 2004, Mozaic has also received recognition from Wine Spectator magazine and The Miele Guide, an Asian restaurant guide published in Singapore.
Not long after Mozaic opened in 2001, Bali's tourism industry was hit by two terrorist attacks. The world financial crisis and renewed terrorism warnings have added to the island's woes. But Mozaic has managed to thrive in a place better known for its beaches and rice paddies than for its cuisine.
"Chris is very business-oriented which comes from his American side, but he's also very passionate, which illustrates the French side of him," said Rakesh Kapoor, the general manager of Mozaic, who has known Salans for six years. "The way he infuses his food with local flavors couldn't happen without him embracing the culture."
Guests choose from four six-course tasting menus that change nightly and showcase Salans's "market cooking" style, which takes Indonesian ingredients and incorporates them into a range of French dishes, resulting in creations like curry butter-roasted crayfish and passion fruit cream baked in phyllo pastry. Other Indonesian ingredients he uses include turmeric, ginger flowers and cardamom.
"In New York, you're lucky to work with ginger and lemongrass, and they call that Asian," Salans said.
The chef sources as much as he can locally, but imports certain premium ingredients he can't find, like Wagyu beef and oysters from Australia and cèpe mushrooms from France. He hires a full-time employee to "go knocking on the doors" of farmers on Bali for fresh passion fruit. He buys baby lamb and crayfish from the island of Java. Most other restaurants in Bali use the same few suppliers, Salans said: "That's what sets us apart."
Guests are first seated in a newly renovated lounge decorated with white sofas, where they sip Champagne and select their menu before moving to the main dining room and garden, full of tropical greenery. The prix-fixe menu costs between $55 to $75 per person.
The workshop in the back of the restaurant feels like a cozy studio apartment with an open kitchen stocked with equipment from the German oven maker Rational, the French cast iron cookware company Staub, and Epromas, a Singaporean sous vide equipment manufacturer. The companies donated the equipment in exchange for exposure to the Bali market.
Salans offers both tourist cooking classes and professional training courses for local chefs working in prestigious establishments such as five-star hotels and high-end restaurants. Far from fearing competition, Salans confidently states that simply attending a few days of college does not guarantee graduation.
With a rich cultural background - a French mother and a Jewish-American father - Salans has been exposed to diverse influences from an early age. Although born in Washington, he spent his formative years in Paris before pursuing a degree in biology at Tufts University near Boston.
Whether you are a culinary enthusiast seeking to learn the secrets of Balinese cuisine or a local chef aiming to enhance your skills, Salans' cooking classes and training courses provide valuable opportunities for growth and development. Through hands-on experiences and expert guidance, participants can explore the mosaic of flavors that define Bali's culinary landscape.
Choosing a career path can be a challenging decision, and this rings true for many individuals, including a chef based in Bali. Initially pushed by his father to attend medical school, he opted to delay his choice and ventured off to enroll in Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. It was during this journey that he discovered his passion for working in a kitchen, despite enduring challenging circumstances at his first paying job in the Paris restaurant Lucas Carton.
Reflecting on those early days, he shared, "I can vividly recall the mental and physical toll - I weighed 79 kilos at the time and had an almost ghostly complexion. The kitchen environment was far from ideal, often leading to emotional turmoil. It resembled a military setting, and for some reason, many chefs, myself included, seemed to embrace the hardship and take pleasure in it." Following his Paris experience, he went on to secure prominent positions such as the chef de cuisine at Bouley Bakery in New York, working alongside David Bouley, and ultimately serving as the head chef at Bouchon, Thomas Keller's renowned bistro in the Napa Valley.
These anecdotes shed light on the determination and resilience required to succeed in the culinary world. Despite the challenging conditions faced, this chef's journey serves as a testament to the unwavering passion that drives individuals to create mouthwatering culinary masterpieces.
During his time working alongside acclaimed chef Bouley, Salans had the opportunity to travel to Thailand in 1995 for a cooking exhibition. This experience ignited his passion for the vibrant flavors found in Asian cuisine, particularly the aromatic combination of lemongrass, turmeric, and galangal.
Fascinated by the culinary scene in Thailand, Salans embarked on a quest to find a position in Asia. It was through the boutique hotel group GHM that he was offered a cooking job at a property in Bali, despite his initial unfamiliarity with the location. He recalls looking at a map and discovering that Bali was a small island seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
While working in Bali, Chef Salans had the opportunity to meet and marry a Javanese woman named Erni. With the couple now having two children, Salans proudly refers to them as "tri-nationals." In embracing his wife's faith, Salans converted to Islam, although he humorously describes himself as a "bad Muslim" due to enjoying pork, swearing, and drinking.
After initially planning for a short one-month vacation on the island, Salans and his wife ended up making Bali their permanent home. Stepping away from the competitive world of celebrity chefs in culinary capitals such as Paris and New York, Salans found the freedom to quietly develop his unique cooking style. Assisting him on this journey is James Ephrain, his accomplished sous chef from Britain.
Aside from honing his craft, what Salans truly values about his new life in Bali is the precious time he gets to spend with his family. Unlike the demanding workload he imagines would come with running a restaurant in New York, Salans cherishes being able to strike a balance between his passion for cooking and his family life.
Being situated in Bali, a renowned tourist destination, presents its fair share of challenges for Mozaic - one of the few upscale dining establishments in the area. The secluded location poses hurdles when it comes to maintaining service and cooking standards. To overcome this, the chef employs various techniques, including classroom lectures, role-playing exercises, and graded tests to train and motivate his staff, striving for excellence in every aspect of the dining experience.
Another obstacle Mozaic faces is the current economic downturn, which has affected hotel occupancy rates in Bali, as reported by the Bali Hotel Association. However, what's interesting to note is that despite the downturn, Bali's hospitality industry is still a vibrant and varied marketplace. For a comprehensive look at the different accommodation options available across the island, visit https://www.all-balihotels.net/en/. There you will be able to compare everything that Bali's diverse hotel scene has to offer. Despite these difficulties, Mozaic has proven its resilience. The restaurant survived the World Trade Center bombing in 2001, as well as the Bali terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2005, having opened just a month before the tragic events of 9/11. This resilience and ability to overcome adversity are testaments to the enduring success of Mozaic.