Will Goldfarb
Follow him: @willtgoldfarb & @r4d_room4dessert
Will Goldfarb
Every decade or so Chef Will Goldfarb finds a few minutes of sunshine. Recently named by The World’s 50 Best as the World’s Best Pastry Chef, 2021 saw the revamped Room4Dessert, his endearingly resilient dessert bar, surrounded by a garden full of medicinal plants, taken to another level. A new menu. A new attitude. A new way to share millennia of local wisdom on health and healing to life.
Chef Goldfarb was featured on Chef’s Table, Season 4, capping a delightfully unexpected 2018, which also saw the release of his first book, Room For Dessert, published in swinging style by Phaidon. He previously enjoyed a breakthrough at the original R4D in NYC, all the way back in 2005, following years of training at El Bulli in Roses, Cibreo in Firenze, and Gerard Mulot in Paris.
Most recently, during a buoyant pandemic adventure, Chef Will and the swashbuckling R4D team braved new spaces (and another new garden!), taking care of people and community in new and most important ways: simply cooking for those who need it. At the same time, the relentless drive in search of new sustainability continues. Look for more adventures in Botanical Modernism soon!
About R4D
The little dessert bar that could
Where it all started. A restaurant serving delicious and innovative desserts in NYC. Bringing joy to people through fresh culinary experiences. The need for purpose brought us to Bali, where the powerful connection between people, nature, and the community re-shaped what we celebrated and served.
Expect the unexpected at R4D like the current menu, Season 13 part 2: The Golden Age, a 15-course journey through some favorite nouvelle cuisine dishes using the natural harvest schedule of our medicinal plants garden at Room4Dessert. A walk through the garden to gather herbs or savor perfumes welcomes you to our home. Savory snacks, decadent desserts, and playful petits fours among the orchard whisk you off into Ubud’s good night. Exquisite drink pairings accompany, while warm hospitality from the team of young and enthusiastic service professionals ease you into the accessible luxury of our island home.
Paramount at R4D is local and sustainable solutions and systems of development. An outstanding team of young women and men has built a network of artisans and artists, food producers, and cultural institutions, which really feels more like a family. We quickly realised that forming a dialogue with the earth – not only through desserts but also via surprising experiences, education, and a heightened sense of wellbeing – made people happy. This became our lifestyle, where people and nature are the centre of what we do.
Our World: People, Process, Plants
Mentorship (Community), Sustainability, Academy
Our commitment to the women and men of Bali and Indonesia who make up our team is our first ingredient. We extend this love and care to the land surrounding our little dessert bar and in turn, are able to share what we grow and how we grow it with our guests. Next, our family meal feeds the hungry in the community, reminding us that the root of sustainability, is in fact, to sustain. Last, we share our ingredients, techniques, and inspirations with our growing community of students. In this way our cycle of renewal is complete.
Botanical Modernism
So what is Botanical Modernism?
It is our fun and artistic approach to learning about medicinal plants and their histories across our shared cultures. It’s a way of looking at the world through the vibrant community of people and plants that we work with every day: bringing you more and more delicious new treats with our hard-won methods and contemporary inspirations. While you may not be able to walk with us through the garden each day, we can bring you along for the ride.
Traditional Wisdom
A key to our sweet world
One of the things we hold most dearly is that sometimes, the old ways are the best. Understanding the difference between technique and technology helps us to accurately value traditional cooking methods and see where the search for the new has led us astray. Our awareness of our history, and that of our community, provides the direction for all of our development. The right way takes time, something a modern commodity economy ignores. But the payoff is not only the flavor, but a sustainable way of life and farming for a new generation of Balinese farmers, artisans, and craftspeople who contribute to every thread of R4D life.
Healing Through Food
The way forward
Traditionally there was no distinction between food and medicine, as cooking was the way to release the valuable properties of plants, grains, and animals. Nowadays, as big food has separated us from the growing process, and big medicine, likewise distancing us from healing, we can’t take the connection for granted. Sparked by Ibu Robin Lim’s Apotek Hidup, our research led to our medicinal plant garden, and our renewed passion for food that tastes great and makes you feel good. Every single plant we plant and dish we create is a chance to remember to take care of ourselves, and a way to be generous to our community.
Press
2018 Chef’s Table Volume 4: Pastry | Netflix: Chef’s Table Pastry: Will Goldfarb
Phaidon Book Store Reviews | Room for Dessert: Room for Dessert | Food & Cookery | Phaidon Store