Bandung-born Chef Erna Nuryanti delivers excellence and elegance through her dessert and pastry creations at the luxury Uluwatu destination, Bulgari Resort Bali. Professional kitchens are very much a male-dominated world, but Chef Erna’s infallible expertise has helped her rise to the top of her field and gain the the utmost respect from her colleagues.
As one often finds with those in the culinary world, passions arise at childhood. For Chef Erna, who moved to Bali from West Java when she was 5 years old, the initial calls to the professional kitchen began from when she helped her mother make Eid cakes and pastries. After furthering her skills at Bali’s Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (Balai Pendidikan dan Latihan Pariwisata Bali), she began her career at a five-star resort in Nusa Dua, continuing her penchant for pastries instead of joining the bustling hot kitchens. In 2006, she joined the fold at Bulgari Resort Bali as Assistant Pastry Chef before taking the mantle as the resort’s Pastry Chef in 2010 — a position she has held diligently to this day.
This pastry professional’s main focus is on Il Cioccolato, Bulgari’s signature chocolate ‘gems’ that translate the finesse found in the brand’s exquisite jewellery into luscious handmade desserts. Chef Erna underwent intensive training in Tokyo with Il Cioccolato Matire Chocolatier, Kanako Saito. Upon her return to Bali she brought the locally-inspired Il Cioccolato Bali signatures to life, working closely with cacao farms in West Bali to develop their very own cacao blend. Under the guidance of Executive Chef Stefano Nicodemo, Chef Erna creates a seductive selection of Balinese-meets-Italian delights, featuring exotic fusion flavours which change according to the season. They will soon launch official Bulgari Hotels & Resorts cakes, and Easter chocolate goodies.
Certainly an inspiring story for women in Indonesia’s culinary world, Chef Erna, who is also a mother of four, wants to see more women in the profession and hopes her story will uplift them to continue developing themselves within the industry.
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