Kita Food Festival (KFF) is a celebration and exploration of Southeast Asian cuisine, uniting some of the region’s top chefs and culinary experts. The event was established to elevate Southeast Asia’s profile in gastro-tourism by showcasing chefs, producers, unique flavors, and food innovators through a variety of curated dinners, collaborative cook-ups, symposiums, and mentorship programs.
Setting to make its much-anticipated return to Kuala Lumpur from September 4 – 8, The Kita Food Festival will feature some of the most prominent figures in the regional culinary scene.
During the KL Weekender, guests can explore genuine farm-to-table connections, modern twists on local cuisine, and the fusion of different cultures and local ingredients.
Official Website: Visit www.kitafoodfestival.com
Below is the complete lineup of Four-Hands Dinners and Kitchen Takeovers taking place in Malaysia:
September 4 & 5
- Jimmy Ophorst of PRU (Phuket, Thailand), Phuket’s first and only restaurant to have a Michelin star that it has retained since 2018, will be doing a four-hands dinner alongside Masashi Horiuchi at Touted as the “inspiring voice of change”.
September 5 & 6
- Ben Devlin of Pipit in Pottsville (New South Wales, Australia), recognised as a Regional Restaurant of the Year finalist in Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide 2023, will run a Kitchen Takeover at Yellow Fin Horse, Else Kuala Lumpur, featuring native Australian bush foods like bunya nuts, lemon myrtle, Dorrigo pepper, and dried pipis cooked with Malaysian- grown.
- Johnson Ebenezer of Farmlore (Bangalore, India), which was recognised as Best Earth- Friendly Restaurant at the NDTV Food Awards 2024 and 2023’s Best Restaurant in South India by the ET Hospitality Awards, will be doing a four-hands dinner alongside Shaun Ng of HIDE. The menu has been designed to take guests on a culinary journey of provenance around Malaysia with each course spotlighting a high-quality ingredient from ethical producers around the nation.
September 6
- Prin Polsuk of one-Michelin star restaurant and #29 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024, Samrub Samrub Thai (Bangkok, Thailand) will be bringing Southern Thai Fisherman cuisine to Raw, Else Kuala Lumpur, promising a unique casual dinner that reflects the food security, diversity, and community-driven cuisine of the Island natives of the Southern Thai gulf.
September 6 & 7
- Hans Christian of August (Jakarta, Indonesia), #46 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, returns to Kita Food Festival to spotlight the emerging trend of New Nusantara cuisine at Akâr Dining alongside Aidan Low.
- Louis Tikaram – 2014’s “Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year” as awarded by the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide who is known for his innovative fusion of Fijian, Chinese and global culinary influences – of Stanley (Brisbane, Australia) will be bringing his take on Modern Chinese comfort food to Fifty Tales.
September 7
- Christophe Lerouy, Chef Patron of one-Michelin Star Lerouy (Singapore), will cook alongside Masashi Horiuchi at Entier.
As part of the Kita Food Festival tradition, the Big Sunday Barbecue will wrap up the KL Weekender on September 8, with exciting tag teams behind the grill:
- Pete Smit of Dirty Supper (Singapore) will be teaming up with Ignis (Kuala Lumpur)
- Su Kim Hock of one-Michelin star Au Jardin (Penang) will team up with two-Michelin Star Dewakan (Kuala Lumpur)
- Vanika Choudhary of Noon (India) will partner with Nadodi (Kuala Lumpur)
- Home cook internet sensation Anis Nabilah (Kuala Lumpur) will be cooking alongside SAJ Bistronomy by Leen’s (Kuala Lumpur)
What’s Next?
Stay tuned as Kita Food Festival will be heading to Singapore in 2025 with some of the most prominent figures in the regional culinary scene!