Giuseppe and the chocolate factory

Last weekend we experienced one of the many weird coincidences that keep on happening to us in Bali: we were completely lost in the middle of nowhere looking for an artisanal ice-cream shop highly recommended by a friend of a friend, when we stumbled upon a small bakery. Giving up hope to locate the much sought-after frozen delicacy, we decided to make it up with a croissant. As we were leaving the shop, we saw a hidden sign with the word “CHOCOLATE” followed by an arrow. This was quite shocking because Kevin is now finalizing his dessert menu and had unsuccessfully been looking for local premium chocolate manufacturers… so taking in the magic gifts Bali offers us daily, we followed a little path to what it looked like a private house… After at least 15 minutes wondering around the back yard  shouting “Hello!” the very same Signor Giuseppe Verdacchi made his appearance!

Signor Giuseppe with his special stone grinder

This Italian architect gave up his profession and has dedicated his life in Bali to produce the most amazing chocolate. Although abruptly awaken from his Sunday nap, he still was proud to share with us the details of the manufacturing process and the resulting product. If you are as curious as us to understand the making of chocolate, continue reading:

Dried chocolate beans

1. Cacao beans are organically produced and sourced
from the hills of Bali and dried at 70 degrees Celsius.

Photo from Primo Chocolate Website

2. They are then sorted by hand and crushed into small nibs and later separated from their skin using wind.

3. The peeled cocoa is ground for many hours in granite stone grinders (like the impressive one from the photo, custom-made for Mr. Verdacchi). This step continues until the desired taste, color and smoothness are achieved.

Photo from Primo Chocolate Website

4. Flavors are then added by a very traditional south Italian method: fresh ingredients (chili, orange, etc.) are slowly simmered with sugar to create an infusion and then cooled and crushed into small crystals that are finally added to the pure chocolate. The flavors do not mix with each other but appear in layers in your mouth as you eat the chocolate.

We left this chocolate oasis in awe. What are the chances of miraculously bumping into an Italian architect who makes chocolate following such a traditional, devoted method in a house surrounded by the Balinese paddy fields? Well, one more life story and one more passionate human being to be added to Cuca family.

The curse of colors

I talked about colors some time ago when we were designing our logo and recently we went back to that topic to choose the best options for some restaurant items and our uniforms. We assumed this time around the task would be easier as now Cuca has a more defined identity. We are very familiar with the style and different tones associated with our brand so we thought that selecting the color for the uniforms, the napkins, the curtains, etc. would be a breeze. Once again, we were so naïve…

We had designed all the items so the next step was choosing fabrics. We made that decision taking into account the climate of Bali (the fabric for the waiters´ uniform had to be light and breathable), the wear and tear (the material had to be durable as the items would be washed daily) and the function of the cloth (kitchen uniforms had to be thicker to be protective, napkins had to be absorbable, etc.).

Although we had as reference our corporate colors, every material is available only on a limited range of hues and some of the fabrics offered a very small choice. To find our dark green was not too difficult but when we got into the enigmatic world of beiges… There were beiges a bit yellow or very pinky, more brownish or rather grey; light beiges or dark beiges or middle beiges; intense beiges or subdued ones…

Our interior designers wanted to help but they are based in Jakarta and although Internet seems to be the solution to all obstacles, a sample in our laptop screen had nothing to do with the same sample opened in their computer. So we went back to the good old forgotten mailing system and had colors crossing the sea one way and another. An exercise of composure and patience that took us slowly, slowly closer to our dream rainbow.  We are almost there now but every night we go to bed wondering if that lighter shade of beige would have been better…. The curse of choice.

You are hired!

As you may know, we have spent our last few days interviewing applicants for Cuca. Although we are still a couple of months away from being ready to open, we wanted to give enough time for our chosen candidates to get organized and, on the other hand, we had repeatedly been told about how difficult it would be this year to get good people so we decided to start hunting talents sooner than later.

We began our campaign by frantically spreading the news about our vacancies to every single soul we know in Bali. Our efforts seemed to pay off… we received more than 200 applications!!!! Once we selected the best ones, we organized the interviews to be held in two batches: a day for the candidates who spoke English and another one for those who only spoke Bahasa (the local language).

These two very long days were a complete immersion program into the Balinese and overall Indonesian culture. We learned about peoples’ lives, hometowns, families, priorities, dreams and aspirations, weaknesses and strengths. We shared our future plans and exchanged vows. It was an unforgettable experience where we met absolutely wonderful people and outstanding professionals. We understand now why Bali is all about hospitality.

Over the course of so many conversations, there were some really funny moments. Although the language barrier made them even funnier, for your reading pleasure we try our best to transcribe the highlights:

Us: BLUE
CANDIDATE: orange
CONTEXT: (in brackets)


What is your long-term goal?
(Decisively) I want to run the world

Why should we hire you?
Because I love the way the restaurant name sounds: Cuuuu Caaaa

Why should we hire you?
Because I can make a football team for Cuca

You have left every job after only a few months. Why would we believe that you will stay longer with us?
Because if I leave another job, my wife will kill me. 

(The candidate had dramatic puffed hair)
If we hire you, will you cut your hair?
(Without hesitation) No, sir, sorry.

(First question interviewing a cook)
As you know, this job is about passion. Do you like cooking?
No, not really…

You are 37, right?
Something like that (actually he had no idea how old he was…)

(Interviewing a candidate for a cooking position)
In your CV you mention you are a Muslim. The problem is that we will serve pork…
Nice! I love pork! In Bali it is delicious!

(Our concept is Tapas, Cocktails and Desserts)
Why do you want to work for us?
I like Italian restaurants
I see… but this is not an Italian restaurant…
Oh, ok, I also really like French restaurants!
(Silence…)

(First question interviewing a cook after a streak of many unsuitable candidates…)
Do you love cooking? 
Yes, I love. 
You are hired! 
(The candidate, confused, looks at Natalia, our assistant, to understand what is going on… Natalia is as shocked as him but reassures him that apparently he’s just been hired)

(The last question at the end of a great long interview with an older distinguished manager)
What are your ultimate goals for this job?
I want to become the General Manager and look at all aspects of operations.
But then a big hotel will be a more suitable place than a restaurant.
(Shocked) This is a restaurant??????

(Interviewing a lady with very little experience for a cook position)
We will need to extensively train so you will have to commit at least one year. Are you planning on having kids soon?
Yes, sir! We are trying! 
Ah, ok, I see….

(Someone in a similar situation as above)
You left your last job after only a few months. Why? 
I got pregnant. 
Are you planning to have another kid soon? 
No, I had twins.

(Interviewing a girl dressing improperly sexy for the occasion)
Why should we hire you? 
I am a fun girl!

Putting aside the laughs, the interviews went amazing. Cuca is very lucky to having found such great talents and more importantly, exceptional people.

A day of silence

What you are about to read is rather shocking, at least for a Western mind that has only recently moved to Bali. Believe it or not, we are right now being held prisoners for the day.

Today we are “celebrating” Nyepi, the Balinese New Year, 1935 in the lunar ‘saka’ (Hindu) calendar. The island started to get ready for this event three days ago, when ‘Melasti’ kept Balinese busy. This cleansing ritual consists of taking all the God statues from the village temples to the rivers or the sea to be bathed and purified by the Neptune of the Balinese Lord, the God Baruna.

Last night was the climax of the preparation for the New Year as an island-wide exorcism ceremony was held at each village main cross road, which is the known meeting place of demons. At sunset we witnessed in shock how villagers paraded their fearsome Ogoh-Ogoh, monsters that symbolize the evil spirits surrounding us. Some of these giants are taken from classical Balinese folklore but all have fangs, bulging eyes and dramatic haircuts. The procession is illuminated by torches and accompanied by Balinese gamelan music.  At the end of the evening everyone starts making as much noise as possible and set fire to the Ogoh-Ogoh in order to get the evil spirits out of their lives or at least drive them insane…

Today, Nyepi day, the airport is completely closed, no travel is allowed, whether by motorized means or by foot, all household electricity is banned and any kind of noise is forbidden. It is a day for introspection and reflection for Balinese families and the most traditional ones even abstain from talking to each other for the whole day. There are no shops or businesses open at all, the only exception being emergency medical services. The only sign of life on the street is the menacing sight of the Pecalang (village police) who patrol the villages in search of wayward locals trying to sneak out but will also firmly escort curious tourists back to their hotel. As you see, a very accomplished production whose only purpose is to ingeniously fool the evil spirits, aroused by the noise last night, into believing that Bali is completely empty so they leave the island.

A true day of silence in which the entire island, populated by over 3 million, quite literally resembles an eerie, post-apocalyptic world with not a soul to be seen, or a voice to be heard. This could only happen in Bali…

Carving Cuca

In this post I am going to share with you the very interesting process of getting some of Cuca items engraved with our logo. The idea was always in our mind but we did not know how difficult it would be to make it happen. After trial and error (you may remember my post about laser engraving) and being painfully stubborn to get it done no matter what, we found someone who specializes in ceramic and stone engraving with a different method: sandblasting. This new supplier, Pak Nyoman, had never worked on wood before but we managed to convince him to give it a try. The first sample was not good (that was one of our black days…) but trying some wild ideas led us to the perfect result.

For those of you interested, this is the detailed process:

Our logo

1. Sandcarving starts by making a sticker with the image to be carved, this time our logo.

Girls placing the stickers in the exact spots

2. The sticker must be placed in the right spot on the “parent material”, in our case wood and stone.

Item protected with tape

3. The whole item must be protected with tape to prevent any blasting damage.

Applying heat on the items

4. To apply heat to get the protective tape and the sticker completely adhered to the parent material.


5. A worker takes the item to a blast cabinet where he propels an abrasive sand-like substance onto the surface of the sticker.

Blasting in progress

Engraving on stone

Engraving on wood

6. The abrasive carves the surface only in the open areas of the stencil, while the areas covered by the tape remain untouched.

7. The desired color (if any) is applied on the carved area. As you can see, the supplier has already mixed our color and applies it by spraying it on the logo.

Applying color

Result on stone

8. Once it is dried, the tape is removed and the parent material is cleaned, even scrubbed. This proves that the engraving pattern and color are highly durable.

Washing and scrubbing 

9. The process ends by checking each item one by one to make sure it is spotless and ready to be delivered.

Quality Control 

Result on wood

We felt very fortunate to be invited to attend to this entire process and we wanted to bring you along and make you “accomplices” in yet another step in the making of Cuca.

"Sniff Sniff"

We are now working hard on our marketing plan and apart from coming up with strategies to get Cuca known, we are also looking at developing a strong and consistent overall brand experience.

It is not a secret that we use all five of our senses to make a buying decision, whether consciously or unconsciously and thus a complete brand experience must tackle each of them: what the customer sees, hears, feels, smells and touches. Today we are sharing with you our dedication to our guests’ nose…
You may have noticed that when walking in a cinema the smell of popcorn awakens your taste buds or that the aroma of coffee makes you crave for one. But it is not only the smell of food that makes you hungry… A 2006 study found that customers who ate at a restaurant that used the scent of lavender generally stayed 15 minutes longer and spent 20% more.

Reflecting on this underused sense in marketing, we decided to develop a scent that captures the essence of Cuca. We are looking for something casual but still sophisticated, uplifting, that pulls you out of your worries and into Cuca’s mood to taste and enjoy. Something you notice when you walk in, that you will remember when you walk out and that comforts you while you are with us.

We won’t release Cuca signature aroma yet. It is still in our head and in the hands of our aroma guru.

Lacking Noah's ark...

Back in December we were so immersed in all the planning for Cuca that we hardly realized that the weather in Bali was gradually changing. Summer had been amazing; the cold wind from Australia’s winter brought perfect temperatures and the driest months of the year. The raining season started gently in November but by mid-December was unstoppable. One of those first rainy mornings we happened to pass by the restaurant site and were shocked by the horror scene: our beloved garden lounge to-be was flooded and this was only the beginning of the monsoon season!!!

Frantic calls and emails followed: we had to address this problem before starting construction!!!! During the next few days we found out that the situation was even more critical. Bali infrastructure leaves much to be desired and there isn’t a proper system to get rid of any excess water even if we managed to collect it within our land. We had to come up with a clever solution and our contractor was the only person we knew who understands about pipes, water and geology. This is his master plan, right now being implemented:

The idea is to let the rain water infiltrate easily into the soil to reach the “water table” (natural water level in the soil) instead of just running-off on the surface that is what creates puddling and floods on the garden.

To facilitate this, infiltration wells are dug by removing the soil within. A “geotextile layer” is then applied to filter the water and prevent the sand from going through into the well together with the rain water, what would cause landslides.

The well is then filled with rock piles kept in place with a steel string cage. The rocks let the water go through to reach the “water table” and are covered with stones and soil to grow back the grass.

This system is supposed to be highly effective but have limitations in case of extreme rainfall as it would not work when the water tables are full and the water has no place to go…

Anyway and as you can guess, our contractor is now our hero. He has rescued Cuca from the floods and we will be forever grateful.

Wells being dug in our garden

Infiltration well

Rocks to fill the wells

A meeting of the minds

Kevin is desperate for jumping into a professional kitchen and all of us around him can feel (and suffer) his urge to get going, so we all decided to prioritize the kitchen. The idea is that although construction will be still in progress at the dining room area, Kevin will be able to start cooking.

The meeting you see in this photos is between the contractors and the kitchen designers and suppliers. We had to review every detail of the drawings made by the designers to make sure the contractors understood it and found it feasible. We also had to identify potential conflicts between the structure of the building and Kevin’s dream kitchen.

It was really interesting for us to see how engineers analyze drawings and what issues are critical when approving final designs: gas pipes, gutters, air ducts, electricity outlets... Our kitchen is especially tricky because apart from being open and thus very visible, we came out with the idea of playing with different elevations and that turned out to be very difficult to implement. You need to understand and coordinate multiple heights: the kitchen equipment, the cooks, the bar counter, the stools, the customers… A headache that we hope will be worth it when you see the end result.  

Despite the several complex issues derived from design, the team managed to find the way around them and make sure our original ideas were respected when planning for their implementation. What a relief!

Gas VS Electricity

Kevin’s master plan for his kitchen before moving to Bali was to get all electrical equipment. After years facing open fires, he was convinced that gas is messy and electric stoves and equipment are the way to go especially for open kitchens. During numerous meetings with our designers the focus was electricity but sometime down this long road of finalizing the kitchen the engineer uttered: “Well, with all this equipment you are going to require as much electricity as a Balinese village…” This comment sounded off an alarm… We have heard a few people say that electricity is quite expensive in Bali and if our consumption was that high… oopps… But before changing our entire concept we had to gather more information and getting actual numbers was really difficult. Nobody in the island was using this type of equipment in its electrical version so we could only guess.

Our contractor, Pak Didik, discussing structure details with the gas supplier.

Time passed by and Kevin was quieter than usual (something rather unusual) until one sunny morning he dropped the bomb: “Virginia, I think we better switch all the equipment to gas”. Surprisingly for him, I couldn’t agree more: to settle now for an option that would forever carry a high monthly cost was not the way to start our project. So determinedly we met the kitchen suppliers and with the best of our smiles we asked them to change all the equipment. Together we found ways to adapt it to an open kitchen and we kept a couple of appliances electric as they would not be consuming too much power.

This week we met a supplier for the gas piping equipment and after showing us the most shocking sales video we have ever seen (happy customers using their services and national news of a huge fire at a restaurant using the competitor’s services), we learned that the installation is quite expensive but the consumption cost is really low (especially when you compare it with the very high electricity cost on the island). Unfortunately there are more cons: we found out that the ugly gas pipes must come from the ceiling and cannot be hidden beneath the floor. Given our open kitchen concept, if we cannot find a good way to hide them, you will be first-hand witnesses to our clever cost effective strategy :)

Let there be light

If there is something that contributes to create a great atmosphere in a restaurant, it is lighting. This is something that restaurateurs either entirely overlook or become obsessed with as the possibilities seem endless.

Cuca will enjoy natural light during the day with its unique open space design, but how to create a magical intimate environment in the evenings? We had an idea of what type of atmosphere we want in each space of the restaurant but we had no clue on how to achieve that result. We needed our interior designers to help us with the type of lighting required and they will also need the support of a lighting consultant to determine the specifications of each lighting device. A long chain of people that need to trust each other and agree despite all having different opinions and interests in mind.

For the bar our interior designers chose a set of fashionable and gorgeous lights from overseas that look great but cost a small fortune. We, who are responsible for the budgets, started to think of options available on the island to find more affordable prices and save the additional shipping cost. The designers showed their concern for local quality and we thought of the potential problems related to servicing overseas products. As you see, everyone is right.

For the dining room our designers proposed a concept completely based on lighting. We were very happy to agree this time with them as we loved their vision but our partner expressed his concern for the electricity cost in Bali. Once again, everyone is right.

We are still facing this dilemma and are trying to find a solution that addresses everyone’s concerns. Not easy, but we like to be surrounded by professionals who care and have principles. And anyway, balance between cost, look and long term feasibility are factors that we would need to take into consideration no matter who is involved, so better to have passionate professionals who know what they are talking about. At the end of the day, we are sure there will be light.