In partnership with Potato Head
Foraging the Queen of Fruits & Feasting In The Rainforest
Bali scoops you up in its verdant embrace and nurtures you through nature, sharing its wisdom through waterfalls, mountains, and rainforests. That’s where you’ll find FED, a local chef collective sharing indigenous secrets to build a better future for Bali.
Eating is more like a ritual in Bali, and a day spent with FED is a multi-sensory experience that invites you to connect with the environment through the lens of food. If you slow down and tune in, every bite offers a teaching, and every ingredient is a reminder of the delicate balance between humanity, and nature.
Ethical food consultant and forager Dewa Ayu Made led the crew into the wild, sharing ancient Balinese philosophy that teaches how to live in harmony with the land. Unlike the conventional farming systems that have pushed food systems to the brink, nothing in this jungle is actively cultivated; nature is left to care for itself, just as intended. Locals work with the forest’s rhythms, foraging what’s offered up to them; they follow the cues of animals, picking fruits only when they’ve been nibbled on, signalling optimum ripeness. After a morning learning about what’s what, everyone hops on dirt bikes laden with gifts from the forest to ride deeper into the jungle, arriving at a hidden lagoon to cook side-by-side with FED.
In Bali, eating is ceremonial and the kitchen is a spiritual place; FED uses nature as theirs. With nothing but hot rocks, Dewa Ayu Made and the FED team transforms foraged ingredients into a delicious lunch packed with flavour. The crew sit barefoot and cross-legged against the soundscape of the jungle to enjoy a feast foraged from the rainforest, with their own hands.
The jungle provides the ingredients, but also the tools to enjoy it all with, banana leaves for serving dishes, stones for cooking, a lagoon for rinsing hands.
After eating, what’s compostable was returned to the earth, and everything reusable is packed away to take with them— in keeping with FED’s non-negotiable ‘leave no trace’ ethos.
Without a doubt, Bali’s environment is suffering, but the past holds the clues of regeneration. The good people at FED are spotlighting the ancient philosophies that have been muted by the race for more — more tourists, more food, more money — not just in Indonesia, but across the world. Chances are, after a day with FED, you might think twice about eating while scrolling, or buying mango from a London supermarket in December.
