To enhance the quality of food and beverages served to guests across its hotels, Archipelago, the largest hotel management group in Southeast Asia, once again presents the culinary competition Black Box Battle at Aston Bogor Hotel & Resort on 25 August 2025.
22 Chefs and 22 F&B Service team members from Jakarta, Bogor, Banten, and Sumatra were challenged to transform secret ingredients from a mystery box within a strict time limit: 60 minutes for the food category and 30 minutes for the beverage category. In this competition, the Chefs had to create dishes using secret ingredients such as Gindara, Beef Ribeye and Silk Tofu, while the F&B Services crafted beverages featuring Mango, Lychee and Espresso Liquid.
For the Food Category Winners, first place was Aris Triyono from Padjajaran Bogor, who won the Charles Brookfield Trophy. Placing second was Febrian Sjarif from Aston Priority Simatupang, winning the John Flood Trophy. Third place was Ari Gusti from hotel Gatot Subroto, winner of the People’s Favorite Trophy.
In regard to the Beverage Category Winners, first place was Micki Rizard from Harper Premier Nagoya Batam – the winner of the Charles Brookfield Trophy. Ade Agung Firmansyah from Grand Aston Puncak Hotel & Resort finished second as the winner of the John Flood Trophy. In third place was Ricky Rukmana from The Alana Hotel & Conference Center Sentul City as the winner of the People’s Favorite Trophy.
“We are proud to once again present the Black Box Battle. This competition is not only about testing cooking and beverage-making skills, but also about Archipelago’s commitment to providing our chefs and F&B services with opportunities to grow, innovate, and deliver exceptional F&B experiences to every guest we serve,” said Winston Hanes, Vice President of Operations at Archipelago.
Archipelago congratulates the winners of the 2025 Black Box Battle from Jabodetabek, Banten, and Sumatra. The Black Box Battle continues to highlight the spirit of collaboration, creativity, and excellence among the group’s F&B professionals, raising the bar for service standards in the hospitality industry.
For more information, visit archipelagohotels.com and follow @archipelagointernational on Instagram.
