Udayana Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 2 No. 1, February 2018 | 27 https://doi.org/10.24843/UJoSSH.2017.v01.i02.p05 Exploring the tourism culinary experiences: an investigation of tourist satisfaction in Ubud Putu Sucita Yanthy Diploma IV Tourism, Tourism Faculty, Udayana University Denpasar, Indonesia putusucita@unud.ac.id Abstract Food has always been part of people‟s life,as it has a major role for people. Food can create a memorable experience, especially for tourists who travel with the purpose of seeking new dishes and experiences. Ubud is one of the best destinations in Bali. It has a lot of warung (small eateries) and restaurants. The local food most easily found in this destination ranges from babi guling (suckling pig) to organic food. By drawing a connection between the local food and tourist experience, this research reveals tourist satisfaction and the importance of culinary elements in the development of Balinese dishes in Ubud. In the analysis, the findings are divided into four quadrants describing tourist satisfaction and the importance of culinary elements that refer to nineteen elements. In conclusion, the culinary industry in Ubud has developed fast, and the tourist satisfaction is mainly affected by the efforts of cultural preservation made by the small eateries and restaurants inUbud. Keywords: culinary, local food, Ubud, tourist satisfaction I. INTRODUCTION Tourism development in a tourist destination is closely related to the cuisine. Competition among tourist destinations in creating new products to attract tourists has led to an increased number of activities in exploring the potentials of the respective tourist destination, especially the local food. A tourism activity which introduces local dishes and beverages, and promotes cultural values is called gastronomy. Gastronomy plays an important role in introducing local food and the uniqueness of the food which is part of the culture. The fact that local food is currently on trend is a marketing opportunity for local food businesses. McDonald’s which is one of the favorite fast food restaurants on trend now experiences the influence of the development of local food to meet the needs of global tourists in addition to their biological needs for food. Human biological needs such as eating and drinking cannot be ignored. Moreover, the idea of mealtime that foreign tourists have makes food and beverages become more important. Without restaurants, bars and catering businesses that meet the needs of tourists, tourism cannot run optimally. The development of this business led to the emergence of many variations of food and beverages so that tourists do not get easily bored. In addition to visiting a destination, tourists also want to taste the local food that may not be provided at the hotel where they are staying. Provision of a variety of dishes is actually part of the local culinary development whose goal is to raise the image of local food to the international level and to compete with the image of food of other countries. Although Balinese food enthusiasts are classified as food-loving tourists or travelers who intentionally visit a destination to taste the local food, they can create opportunities for Bali to introduce its local food. Today, cafes, restaurants, and warung (small eateries) serving a variety of Balinese, European, and Asian food and beverages such as Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese dishes are easy to find. Now, there are quite many local people who become culinary entrepreneurs, and they come from various social circles. Their motivations also vary. There are also culinary entrepreneurs selling special food that can cure certain diseases and require their customers to consume healthy food. Furthermore, there are culinary businesses that have been operating for generations, which are favorited even by many young people nowadays. Culinary business has added colors to the vibrant tourism in Bali, especially in the area of Ubud. In addition to the dances, painting, and palace, which are the main attractions, now the local cuisine is also one of the attractions in this destination. One of the most popular culinary businesses in Ubud is Warung Bodag Maliah Ubud, which serves organic food such as fried rice, urap (mixed vegetables with grated coconut flesh), salad and specialty drinks from a mixture of herbs such as loloh. The vegetables mostly come from the agricultural land in the surrounding area of the warung.