Ray Adriansyah

Chef Ray Adriansyah's culinary philosophy is deeply rooted in a "localized rebellion" against conventional fine dining, prioritizing hyper-local, Indonesian ingredients and an unwavering commitment to sustainability and zero-waste practices. He, alongside Chef Eelke Plasmeijer, champions an ethos that seeks to bridge the disconnect between diners and the origins of their food, transforming humble ingredients into extraordinary culinary experiences. His approach to ingredient sourcing is exhaustive and deeply collaborative. Locavore NXT draws from Indonesia’s wild landscapes, fringe farms, and even their on-site facilities like the Rooftop Food Forest and a dedicated Mushroom Chamber. Chef Adriansyah actively cultivates lesser-seen mushroom varieties (e.g., lion's mane, pink oysters) in-house, shifting away from imported options. He collaborates closely with local farmers like Pak Agung, who provide ancestral knowledge and diverse harvests from various elevations across Bali, ensuring the freshest and most distinctive produce. The restaurant's B.I.O. (Biodiversity Interactive Open-Source) Library, which he envisions as a global database, underscores their dedication to documenting and understanding Indonesia's vast biodiversity. A cornerstone of his vision is the circular kitchen system, where nothing is wasted. This is evident in practices such as using okara from house-made soymilk for subsequent dishes, transforming mushroom leftovers into shoyu and dashi, and employing sophisticated waste management infrastructure including composting, recycling, a worm sewage treatment plant, and a Black Fly larvae system. This holistic commitment extends to beverages, with Chef Adriansyah leading the charge to replace imported spirits with 100% Balinese ingredients like Brem, Arak, and Tuak, creating unique cocktail pairings that resonate with the local palate and enhance the dining experience. His overarching goal is to redefine modern dining through a continuous journey of responsibility, showcasing Indonesian ingredients, and inspiring positive change within the culinary world. Chef Ray Adriansyah's signature approach is characterized by a blend of technical mastery, profound ingredient transformation, and an interactive, experiential dining narrative. His technical style involves extensive research and development in Lab X, utilizing advanced techniques like fermentation (e.g., lacto-fermented mushrooms), clarification (as seen in the Blue Swimmer Crab consommé), and in-house production (such as house-made soymilk and tempeh from kenari nuts and pigeon peas). He focuses on making "simple and humble ingredients shine," often deconstructing and reimagining them to create unexpected textures and flavors, as exemplified by a mochi-like banana amuse-bouche. His flavor and plating philosophy leans into bold, local tastes presented with natural aesthetics that reflect the ingredient's origin. The dining experience itself is a multi-sensory journey, moving guests through different areas of Locavore NXT—from an open kitchen where diners can observe cooking, to a mushroom fruiting chamber and a B.I.O. Library. Chef Adriansyah encourages his team to engage with guests, providing a personal touch to each dish. The artistic plating often features elements like a "miniature wall of garden" for the Every Edible Element Chayote, showcasing various parts of a single plant. Key signature dishes and approaches that exemplify his work include: * **"The Source" Tasting Menu**: A 16-course forage-to-table experience emphasizing hyper-local sourcing and circular systems. * **Silken Tofu (Root System)**: A dish demonstrating circularity, made from house-produced Javanese soymilk, with waste okara used for subsequent dishes, and mushrooms treated with diverse techniques (lacto-fermented, blanched, preserved, confited in coffee oil), with leftovers creating shoyu and dashi. * **Kenari Nut and Pigeon Pea Tempeh**: A meticulously developed dish (after 40 variations) that transforms traditional tempeh into a soft, refined texture, served with cashew milk sauce and black garlic purée. * **The Whole Banana Tree Amuse-Bouche**: A mochi-like snack incorporating multiple parts of the banana plant (fruit, trunk, curry) from specific local varieties like pisang susu and pisang gancan. * **Blue Swimmer Crab**: A dish where the crab is clarified into an amber consommé, poured tableside over grilled baby squid, river tamarind beans, and pickled jicama, subverting diner expectations. * **Every Edible Element Chayote**: A visually striking dish that presents the sprouts, flowers, leaves, and fruit of the chayote plant as a miniature garden over cured ayam kampong egg yolk.

Career

• Culinary Student at Professional Culinary Training, Christchurch
• Chef at Various Restaurants, Jakarta
• Head Chef at Alila Ubud, Bali
• Chef/Co-Founder at Locavore, Ubud
• Chef/Co-Founder at Locavore NXT, Ubud