There is a dish at Apéritif that began during the COVID pandemic. At a time when the restaurant was closed to guests, and the world had gone quiet, the kitchen kept working. Out of that period came a tomato course that guests still ask about. One that Chef Nic Vanderbeeken describes simply as a dish about memory, creativity, and not wasting beautiful produce.
That dish is now back on the menu, and it tells the story of sustainable fine dining in Ubud more clearly than almost anything else on the plate.
What Makes This a Zero-Waste Fine Dining Dish
The Heirloom Tomato course arrives as Green and Red Tomato, Goat Cheese Mousse, Crème Fraîche, Tomato Powder, and Kombucha. Every element on the plate comes from the same ingredient. The flesh forms the foundation. The juice becomes part of the dressing. The skin is dried and ground into the tomato powder used for both seasoning and colour. The seeds and trimmings are fermented in-house into kombucha, which provides the bright acidity that lifts the entire dish.
Nothing is discarded. This is what zero-waste fine dining in Bali looks like without making a statement about it. The dish does not announce its philosophy. It simply embodies it.
Locally Grown by Balinese Farmers
The heirloom tomatoes in this dish are sourced from Bali Organic, grown without chemical intervention. Unlike commercially grown varieties bred for shelf life and consistency, heirloom tomatoes have distinct flavour profiles shaped by the soil and climate of their growing regions. For a dish built entirely around a single ingredient, the quality of that ingredient when it arrives in the kitchen matters more than almost anything else the kitchen can control. Sourcing from within Bali means the tomatoes arrive at their peak without the deterioration that comes with long transport, and that proximity is entirely deliberate.
Viceroy Bali, the property home to Apéritif, maintains an organic garden on the grounds, where vegetables and herbs are grown using natural compost and manure. The kitchen’s commitment to local sourcing and zero-waste food management extends to every element of the Heirloom Tomato course, which is documented on the Viceroy Bali sustainability page as a flagship example of zero-waste cooking across the property.
The Story Behind the Sustainable Fine Dining Dish
Chef Nic Vanderbeeken is direct about what this dish means. It is a reinvention of one of Apéritif’s favourite dishes from the Covid period, and many guests who dined with Apéritif then still remember and miss it. The reimagined version keeps the soul of the original while deepening the zero-waste philosophy that has always been at the heart of the kitchen.
The kombucha is made in-house from tomato trimmings, turning what the kitchen does not use into the acidity that lifts the entire dish. The tomato powder is made from dried skins, another byproduct of the preparation process, ground into a seasoning that adds both colour and intensity to the plate. Nothing from the tomato leaves the kitchen as waste. This is sustainable fine dining in Bali built into the cooking process itself, not added on top of it.
Where the Heirloom Tomato Sits on the Degustation Menu
In the seven-course Guided by the Moon degustation, the Heirloom Tomato appears as the Nearly Full Moon course, the point where the menu begins to build toward deeper and more generous flavours. It is fresh, bright, and precisely made. On the vegetarian menu, it arrives as Tomato with Goat Cheese and Kombucha. On the vegan menu, the goat cheese is replaced with Soy, keeping the same balance of richness and acidity without dairy.
The dish is also available as part of the five-course Guided by the Moon degustation, making it accessible to guests seeking a shorter experience while still enjoying one of Apéritif’s most considered courses.
Why Sustainable Fine Dining in Ubud Starts Here
Sustainable fine dining in Ubud means different things in different kitchens. At its most honest, it means asking where every ingredient comes from, how it was grown, what happens to what is not used, and whether those answers reflect a genuine relationship with the land. The Heirloom Tomato course at Apéritif answers all of those questions on a single plate.
It connects organically grown local produce sourced from within Bali to an in-house fermentation program, an on-property organic garden and greenhouse, a globally recognised sustainability certification, and a chef who has been building this way of cooking at Apéritif. Understanding this dish is one way to understand what Apéritif stands for, and why sustainable fine dining in Bali can be extraordinary rather than merely responsible.
Reserve your table now to experience the Heirloom Tomato course and full degustation menu.
All menus at Apéritif are seasonal and subject to change. Dedicated vegetarian and vegan degustation menus are also available.
