A Culinary Homecoming: Ubud Food Festival 2025 Returns to Celebrate Indonesia’s Heritage of Taste

This May, the heart of Ubud will beat once again to the rhythm of sizzling woks, clinking glasses, and the chorus of culinary languages. From May 30 to June 1, 2025, the Ubud Food Festival returns for its 10th year, promising three unforgettable days that celebrate the vibrant, diverse, and deeply personal stories behind Indonesian cuisine.

What began as a humble idea by Janet DeNeefe, founder and director of the festival and a long-time advocate for Balinese culture and gastronomy, has grown into one of Southeast Asia’s most anticipated culinary events. Under the wing of the Mudra Swari Saraswati Foundation, the festival continues its mission to uplift the culinary traditions of Indonesia and place them center stage before a global audience. In its milestone tenth year, the festival carries the theme “Heritage”—an invitation to reflect on the richness of Indonesia’s culinary identity, both preserved and evolving. “In our tenth year, food lovers can not only explore contemporary creations from the island’s finest chefs but also dive into time-honored cuisines rarely found in mainstream preserves,” DeNeefe says. “From flavors of Bandanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau, and East Nusa Tenggara, to dishes from Maluku and Papua, the diversity at this year’s festival showcases the nation’s astonishing yet underappreciated culinary depth.”

Across three days, Ubud will become a playground for food enthusiasts, with more than 100 chefs, restaurateurs, activists, artisans, and visionaries gathering to share their craft through a lively program of cooking demos, food tours, workshops, masterclasses, live talks, and performances. Special events such as the whimsical Mad Hatter’s Tea Party will add a layer of theatrical delight to the proceedings, while festival-goers can also join chef’s tables and intimate tastings that connect palate with story.

Among the honored guests this year is culinary legend Ni Made Masih—fondly known as Bu Made—who will be presented with the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The founder of Warung Sangan and a pioneer of homestyle Kuta cuisine, Bu Made has long been revered for her unwavering commitment to tradition, hospitality, and soulful cooking. Her presence at the festival is not only a tribute to her legacy, but a reminder of the women who have kept Indonesia’s culinary flames alive across generations.

The festival will also spotlight exciting names from across the region. Sisca Soewitomo, often called Indonesia’s queen of home cooking, will share the stage with her daughter Novia in a sweet and sentimental masterclass. Malaysia’s Chef Wan and Harry Mangat, Australia’s dessert star Gareth Whitton, as well as Room4Dessert and 7am Bakery’s Chef Maxine Chene, will also bring their talents to Ubud’s open kitchens. Young Indonesian chefs like Tyler Preston and Mona Zeng of Panda Kitchen will offer a glimpse into the next generation of culinary storytellers—those who carry the past with them even as they dream up the future.

More than just a feast, the Ubud Food Festival is a meeting of minds. Panels such as “Food for Thought Stage” and the “Indonesian Gastro Diplomacy” sessions offer space for big questions and bold ideas—from the role of food in climate resilience to how Indonesian cuisine can take its rightful place on the world stage. At the Teater Kuliner, family and heritage take center stage as Janet DeNeefe and her daughter Lakshmi DeNeefe Suardana share a deeply personal cooking session, tracing recipes and rituals passed down in their own home.

The spirit of the festival spills out beyond ticketed events and onto the streets, where the Food Market returns with over 70 food artisans serving up irresistible Indonesian street food. Here, the air is thick with the scent of satay smoke, the buzz of eager queues, and the joy of simple, delicious bites shared under Bali’s golden sun. The 2024 edition of the festival drew a record 15,000 attendees, and this year’s anniversary celebration is poised to be even bigger.

As the island prepares to host this tribute to flavor, memory, and craft, one thing is certain: in Ubud this May, food isn’t just something to eat—it’s a language, a legacy, and a love letter to Indonesia itself.