Bali -  Opened since late July, Cuca, a casual dining destination serving tapas, cocktails and desserts, is hosting its Grand Opening on 10 August 2013. Set in the beautiful expanse of a coconut grove, the restaurant is helmed by Chef Kevin Cherkas, who has an enviable career developed in some of the world's best restaurants, and his wife Virginia Entizne, with a successful track record at managing and enriching customer's experience.

 

Cuca offers three distinctive spaces: an interactive and exciting food bar where wooden chairs run along one impressive 8-meter-long teak counter. Slightly elevated, guests directly face the open kitchen, as if they were front-row spectators attending a performance; a relaxed and intimate dining room, ideal for guests to enjoy the company of each other in a comfortable and air-conditioned environment, and a chilled out cocktail bar & garden lounge, gently touched by the ocean breeze and surrounded by the undisturbed beauty of nature.

 

Kevin's cooking philosophy consists on serving western cooking made exclusively from the best and freshest local ingredients. He handpicks the tastiest products Indonesia offers and brings them to a new level by applying techniques acquired through his outstanding career at, among others, Michelin three-star Arzak Restaurant in San Sebastian, Michelin three-star El Bulli in Roses and Michelin two-star La Broche in Madrid. He also left his mark in New York City during his 2 year tenure with Daniel Boulud at the highly regarded Michelin three-star Daniel.

 

Among the signature dishes at Cuca are the "Chilled Watermelon Salad", an outrageously flavorful concoction of watermelon, calamansi, radish, fresh seaweed, sesame and cilantro. From the cocktail menu stands out "Pink Lime", a frozen combination of fresh lime juice, honey and gin topped with soda meringue. Truly special from the desserts category is "Cocoa 8", a warm dark mousse made from exceptional local chocolate with mint ice-cream and chocolate cake croutons.

 

Menu prices are very accessible by Bali standards with all items served in sharing portions and starting from Rupiah 30,000 (USD 3).

 

As part of the restaurant focus on taste, Cuca has developed two additional offerings: Cuca Sessions take participants through a journey of discovery aiming at understanding flavors and taste. These unique "tasting" classes go far beyond any traditional cooking lesson, revealing a completely new creative approach to cooking. Cuca Salt, on the other hand, is a seasoning mixture meticulously handcrafted to capture the soul of traditional Balinese flavors. The base product is an exceptional salt from east Bali that is infused by Cuca chefs with the fresh and natural essences of Balinese ingredients.

 

Cuca is located just in front of Kayumanis Jimbaran Private Estate and Spa. Reservations may be made by calling +62 361 708066. The restaurant is open seven days a week from 12pm to 12am.



About Kevin Cherkas - Chef/Restaurateur

 

Chef Kevin Cherkas has an enviable track record developed in some of the world's most outstanding restaurants.

 

In Spain, he honed his skills at Michelin three-star Arzak Restaurant in San Sebastian, Michelin three-star El Bulli in Roses, and Michelin two-star La Broche in Madrid. He also left his mark in New York City during his tenure with Daniel Boulud at his highly regarded Michelin three-star Daniel.

 

As testament to his culinary talent, he is the recipient of numerous awards. These include gold and silver medals at the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs national and regional competitions in 2003, a gold medal at the USA Chicago Culinary Salon Team Canada 2001, and three gold medals at the British Columbia Chefs Association Hot Culinary Competition in 2000, to name a few. Most notably, he joined the Bocuse d'Or World Cuisine Contest 2001 as an apprentice representative and achieved a fifth place finish.

 

Most recently, Chef Kevin helmed BLU at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore and prior to that Restaurant Lafite in Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

 

 

About Virginia Entizne - Restarauteur

 

Coming from the beautiful city of Salamanca in northwestern Spain where she obtained her degree at one of the oldest and most prestigious Universities in the West, Virginia's obsession with learning and discovery has taken her on a journey eastwards for the past 12 years. After completing a Master's degree in Business Administration, she experienced the fast pace of working in several fast-growing companies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and subsequently put it all to the test when she moved to Singapore and found herself driving the exponential growth of Las Lilas School, Singapore's premier language school.

 

Her success at managing and enriching customer's experience has naturally led her to the land of hospitality: Bali. Bringing along the memories of her childhood from a country where gastronomy is a way of life and where dining is an amazing emotional experience, Virginia has fused her vision with the talent of Kevin to give Bali and the world a new culinary destination.



 

Marketing links & contact:

 

Email: virginia@cucaflavor.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cucaflavor

Website: www.cucaflavor.com

Blog: http://cucaflavor.blogspot.com/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/CucaFlavor

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/shbs9



 

Photos Provided:

Cocktails: a form of cuisine of its own, Cuca cocktails are exciting, refreshing and playful. A true balance of flavor available with or without alcohol.

Tokyo Mojito: calamansi, rum, soda, shiso leaf.

Irish Kopi: frozen coffee, whiskey cream, coconut sugar.

 

Tapas: delicious, diverse and affordable plates to be combined and shared.

Glazed young carrot salad, whipped avocado, bedugul strawberry, cashew nut, basil.

Deep ocean tiger prawn "puddle", white rice, mild red chili, wild herb.

 

Dessert: Cuca's truly special new sweet classics are rather light, mildly sweet but still heavily delicious.

Cocoa 8, warm chocolate mousse, mint ice cream, cocoa croutons.