KUCHING, 8 APRIL 2026: Following a journey through Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, and Mulu, Serumpun Sarawak returns to Kuching for its defining finale at Sarawak Cultural Village.
This final chapter brings together culture, cuisine, and community in an immersive experience that reflects both the platform’s evolution and its next phase.
More than a showcase, Serumpun Sarawak has evolved into a living platform — one that translates Sarawak’s deep food knowledge, indigenous traditions, and biodiversity into a contemporary experiential format. Its return to Kuching marks a point of convergence, bringing together its journey into a cohesive expression rooted in place, reinforcing Sarawak’s culinary identity as a living system shaped by its people, environment, and traditions.
At its core, Serumpun Sarawak is built on collective custodianship, bringing together chefs, indigenous knowledge holders, farmers, producers, artisans, and cultural practitioners under a shared commitment to preserve, interpret, and elevate Sarawak’s food culture.
Drawing from the state’s ecological and cultural knowledge systems — from forest and river ingredients to fermentation practices — the platform presents cuisine not as static heritage, but as a living, evolving practice.
Guided by Chef James Won as custodian, the Serumpun Sarawak kitchen operates as a collaborative space. This finale edition features collaborating chefs John Lim, Laura Sim, and Robbie Balcarek, who work within Sarawak’s ingredient landscape and cultural context.
The emphasis shifts from individual authorship to shared interpretation, contributing to a wider culinary narrative grounded in place.
Set within the living cultural landscape of Sarawak Cultural Village, the experience unfolds as an integrated journey connecting guests to the land, its people, and its stories.
It begins with a curated exhibition featuring artisans, producers, and cultural practitioners, offering insight into the ecosystem behind Sarawak’s cuisine, before transitioning into a multi-course gastronomic experience where each dish reflects the depth of Sarawak’s biodiversity and cultural memory.
Guided by a hyperlocal philosophy, ingredients are sourced from forests, rivers, and farms, shaped by indigenous knowledge and practices, with each course accompanied by storytelling that reveals the origins, science, and cultural significance behind the ingredients.
Together, the dining and exhibition form what Serumpun Sarawak describes as a living archive, where culture is not simply displayed, but actively practised, shared, and continuously evolved, reinforcing the idea that cuisine does not exist in isolation, but is the result of communities, landscapes, and generations of knowledge working together.
A defining principle of Serumpun Sarawak is its emphasis on shared ownership.
While Chef James Won leads its curation, the platform is intentionally built as a collective movement, ensuring that Multiple voices and perspectives across communities and generations carry forward Sarawak’s food culture.
While this finale marks the culmination of Serumpun Sarawak as a travelling platform, it also signals the beginning of its next phase.
Through mentorship, training, and collaboration, the platform aims to inspire and nurture a new generation of chefs to engage more deeply with Sarawak’s ingredient landscape, encouraging exploration, thoughtful interpretation, and the continued elevation of local produce within contemporary cuisine.
The introduction of its mentee initiative reflects this commitment to continuity, forming part of a broader ecosystem that supports knowledge transfer and long-term development, while ensuring that the platform’s impact extends beyond the experience itself.
This direction is further strengthened by Sarawak’s broader efforts in gastronomy development, including the completion of the Sarawak Gastronomy Centre, which will serve as a dedicated platform to showcase, study, and elevate the state’s culinary identity while supporting the development of future culinary talent.
As Serumpun Sarawak concludes this chapter in Kuching, it stands not only as a culmination but as a foundation for what comes next, positioning cuisine as a means of preserving heritage, sustaining biodiversity, and shaping Sarawak’s evolving cultural narrative.
(Source: Your Stories — Sarawak Tourism Board)
