Iniala Malta’s Chefs feel inspired after an eye-opening visit to Bali
After recently joining the company as Executive Chef and Head Chef for the soon-to-open Iniala Malta, Andrew Borg and Kurt Micallef have come to understand the impact of Iniala’s philanthropic activities during an eye-opening and inspirational visit to Bali earlier this month.
Bali is the heart of activity for Inspirasia Foundation, the grant-making foundation that falls under Iniala’s philanthropic arm. Inspirasia supports various non-profit organisations and social initiatives in South East Asia and Malta, three of which are based at the Annika Linden Centre in Bali’s capital, while five others are found in other parts of the island.
During a tour of the Annika Linden Centre, the chefs discovered how the building serves as a one-stop-shop for people with disabilities in Bali. They watched prosthetic and orthotic devices being made from scratch in PUSPADI’s workshop, learnt how DNetwork connects people with disabilities to employment and explored YPK’s music therapy and physiotherapy rooms. While visiting the Centre, the chefs also held an interactive cooking class with the children with disabilities enrolled on YPK’s education program. The children were taught how to make cookies and pancakes, after which they showed the chefs how to make a traditional Indonesian dish called Rujak.
“The students really enjoyed the class and were proud to be part of the cooking process. Cooking is an important skill for our students to develop. It teaches valuable life skills, such as communication, reading, math, responsibility and sharing”
During their time in Bali, Andrew and Kurt journeyed far off the beaten track to visit East Bali Poverty Project’s school in Manikaji, which is supported by Inspirasia. Shocked at the extreme poverty in these remote villages of East Bali, the chefs realised the full extent of the impact that Inspirasia’s support has on the communities there. They felt humbled to be welcomed by a group of ambitious students and dedicated teachers at the school. Andrew and Kurt shared their experiences working as professional chefs and explained the steps that need to be taken to pursue cooking as a career.
“It’s one thing hearing about what Inspirasia does in Bali, but it’s another witnessing it first-hand. I can now understand why it’s all done, and I am so happy to be part of it”