Welcome to GlobalEAT
The Global Eat and Travel Network
featuring food connections to people and places
I'm Agnes Chung.  Today we speak with
Canadian Chef Kevin Cherkas on why he
chose Asia, specifically Bali in Indonesia to open his
restaurant, Cuca Flavors.   Why Asia, Kevin?
Asia, listen Asia is dynamic.
Everything is  happening in Asia.
people doing things in Asia.
We wanted...the idea of going to Spain which now
economically and obviously not where
it needs to be and to try to do a type of business
that's based on disposable income
it just didn't make sense you've got
people that are closing business that
have been open for a hundred years
places that are selling shoes for a hundred years,
and they didn't need another restaurant...
and it was too big of a risk, and conceptually we thought
what we could do in Asia would be unique.
You know that being a Western cook in Asia
you know and using local ingredients
it's different you know so, for us why Asia
why not...laugh...
Listen I mean, listen the sky's the limit.
I worked in New York, I've worked in Spain for years
why not in Europe , as opportunities presents itself,
I never had the opportunity
the best opportunity that my wife Virginia and me
had ever had was to do this project in Bali,
that was the only person whose
willing to take a big enough risk on us...
as people willing to operate and build and run
an amazing world-class restaurant...not every day that
happens.  So if it would have been a guy
in New York , hey listen buddy, you do
something on 65th on Park and Madison
maybe, but it didn't happen
and what Bali gave us for an opportunity
we took it, we took the first opportunity that
came our way because it seemed like a good one.
And what excites you about Bali?
Actually Bali, Bali is not very exciting, it's it's kind of
very tranquil and very docile, and it's a beautiful
island, but there's no it's not like a major massive city.
I think the most exciting thing about Bali is
the guests that we get, the customers that
come with expectations from all over the world and
they are coming.
People come to Bali which is a tourist island
from all over the world.
You've got people from Asia that are coming to Bali
to see what is going on what's going on,
and you got people from all over Europe and all over the
world coming to Bali to see what is this Bali place,
and by serving the ingredients of Indonesia
prepared in a different way we were able to showcase
the flavours of, of where we are in a very unique,
very diverse style of cooking and
what excites me about Bali,  the job,
the guests, the products .  Do you see yourself in
five years expanding your restaurant beyond Bali?
Yeah, slowly, very very very very slowly.
We have a team of people that have been
so unbelievable that work for the restaurant and
the idea was quite simply, make sure we can give
this opportunity this feeling of being able
to open something and have something of your own
be able to give that to other people because
people outgrow things, like the soft shell crab,
they become too big for the shells, and we have
some people in the restaurant that are too big just
to be housed under one unit, we want to expand to
give them more more opportunities within the company
because not only do they deserve it but they're capable.
So do you see your restaurant expanding?
Jakarta, in Indonesia.  I would love to do
something maybe one day in Japan
who knows we are definitely looking...the idea is...
this is Canada like a salmon that's where I want to
go back to, like spawning.
This is where we are right now.  The idea would be
to have a few on the way,
and eventually get ourselves back to Canada.
