An inspiring culinary arena where creativity, passion, and skill come together to redefine the art of gastronomy

To elevate the quality of food and beverages across its hotel network, Archipelago, the largest privately owned hotel management group in Southeast Asia, once again hosted the prestigious 16th edition of the Archipelago Black Box Battle on October 8, 2025, at Aston Cirebon Hotel & Convention Center. The event brought together 13 chefs and 13 F&B service professionals representing 14 Archipelago hotels from West Java, Cilacap, Purwokerto, and Pekalongan.

In this competition, participants were challenged to craft creative dishes and drinks using secret ingredients from a mystery box. Chefs were given 60 minutes to prepare a signature dish, while F&B service teams had 30 minutes to create innovative beverages. They competed for prestigious trophies presented by Charles Brookfield, Chairman of Archipelago, and John Flood, CEO of Archipelago. Through this event, Archipelago reaffirmed its commitment to continuously enhancing the skills of its culinary talents across hotel units, ensuring exceptional dining experiences for guests.

“Archipelago Black Box Battle has always been a special moment for us. It is not only a platform to showcase culinary skills but also a demonstration of Archipelago’s commitment to encouraging chefs and F&B teams to continuously grow, innovate, and deliver the highest culinary standards for our guests,” said Winston Hanes, Senior Vice President of Operations at Archipelago.

In the Black Box Challenge, chefs were required to create dishes using eight secret ingredients: whole chicken, scallions, takuan (pickled radish), pumpkin, zucchini, Japanese tofu, Japanese soy sauce, and honey. Meanwhile, F&B service teams were tasked with creating beverages using at least two of three secret ingredients: red apple, lemongrass, and Earl Grey tea.

The winners of Archipelago Black Box Battle 2025 are as follows:

Food Battle Category

• First Place: Reno Gani – Harper Cikarang, West Java (Winner of the Charles Brookfield Trophy and cash prize)
• Second Place: Hari Putra Nugraha – favehotel Hyper Square Bandung (Recipient of the John Flood Trophy and cash prize)
• Third Place: Candra – Aston Cirebon Hotel & Convention Center (Recipient of the Favorite Trophy and cash prize)

Beverage Battle Category

• First Place: Arya Ristiawan – favehotel Pamanukan, West Java (Winner of the Charles Brookfield Trophy and cash prize)
• Second Place: Zainnuri – Aston Purwokerto Hotel & Convention Center (Recipient of the John Flood Trophy and cash prize)
• Third Place: Arya Nazar Nugraha – Hotel Neo Dipatiukur, Bandung (Recipient of the Favorite Trophy and cash prize)

The competition served as a platform for Archipelago’s chefs and F&B service teams to demonstrate their creativity, innovation, and teamwork in crafting dishes and beverages that delight guests. Congratulations to all winners and participants from West Java, Pekalongan, Cilacap, and Purwokerto for delivering outstanding performances at the prestigious Archipelago Black Box Battle 2025 culinary stage.

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