I had the incredible opportunity to create a vegetarian restaurant on a small tropical island in Indonesia named Gili Air. The result exceeded any of my expectations. A heart-centered approach to holistic food that brought a community of conscious travelers together under a 100-year old Joglo.
I went with a seascape palette of blues and light greys, with a touch of European and a whole lot of cozy. From linen napkins, to a no-plastic policy (take-out stuff was compostable cassava), the goal was to be low impact while creating a fresh, organic, feel good zone.
The menu was born out of sheer limitation. All the produce was delivered by boat from nearby Lombok and all superfoods transported from Bali. Ingredients like Spirulina, Activated Charcoal, Raw Cacao powder, and Cold Pressed Virgin Coconut oil elevated the dishes like nowhere else on the island. Even the sea salt was from Bali. Absolutely no palm oil was used (ubiquitous and dirt cheap make this very popular in Indo). I took advantage of exotic island-grown ingredients like Moringa and Jackfruit that took center stage on the menu. Clean eating was at the forefront of this project.
The experience was more than I could have ever dreamed of. Thinking up the menu items, creating the recipes and then training the amazing team to recreate the dishes with the most important element I feel, consistency, made Musa Cookery a gem of a success story.
