Collaborative dining has become a familiar concept, but rarely does it slow itself down enough to matter.
On a recent evening in Bali, 8 Hands brought together chefs and bartenders around one table for a dining night shaped less by spectacle and more by alignment. The format was simple: multiple hands, one shared sequence.
The execution, however, relied on something more challenging to achieve. Restraint.
At the heart of the night were Chef Marco Petriacci and Ardi, whose four-hands dialogue between kitchen and bar quietly set the pace. Around them, Chef Reyno and Bojes contributed contrast and texture, expanding the table without disrupting its rhythm.
Rather than functioning as a showcase, 8 Hands unfolded as a working collaboration. Deliberate, composed, and attentive to flow.
When Kitchen and Bar Move as One
What distinguished 8 Hands was not the number of contributors, but how they worked together. Marco Petriacci and Ardi approached the menu as a single sequence rather than separate departments. Plates and cocktails were designed in conversation, not in turns.
Each decision, from intensity to timing, considered what came before and what would follow. This approach removed hierarchy. No course
attempted to dominate the night. Instead, the experience progressed steadily, allowing guests to remain present rather than reactive.
Marco Petriacci: Anchoring the Table Through Clarity
Marco Petriacci’s cooking provided the structure of the evening. His plates emphasized balance and legibility, allowing ingredients to stand clearly without unnecessary layering. Rather than relying on complexity, the dishes focused on freshness and proportion, creating a steady foundation for the collaboration. Within 8 Hands, Marco did not aim to impress in isolation. His role was to anchor the
sequence, to give the table direction while leaving room for response. That clarity made the rest of the collaboration possible.
Ardi: Cocktails That Carry the Night Forward
From the bar, Ardi shaped the experience through continuity. His cocktails were designed to support the rhythm of the table rather than interrupt it. Each pour was carefully considered alongside flavor, ensuring transitions between courses felt natural and unforced. By treating cocktails as part of the overall structure, Ardi positioned the bar as connective tissue, linking plates, conversations, and pauses into a cohesive flow. The result was an experience that unfolded evenly, without peaks that overshadowed what followed.
Reyno and Bojes: Contrast Without Disruption
Chef Reyno and Bojes introduced a necessary counterpoint. Their contributions leaned lighter and more expressive, bringing contrast in texture and tone. Instead of competing with the anchor set by Marco and Ardi, their work expanded the table’s range, allowing variation to coexist comfortably within the sequence. This balance between structure and expression gave 8 Hands depth. Each hand remained distinct, yet aligned with the shared pace of the night.
Why Collaborative Dining Works When It Is Practiced, Not Performed
Across Bali’s dining scene, collaborations are often framed as moments of visibility. 8 Hands took a quieter route. By focusing on process rather than presentation, the chefs and bartenders treated collaboration as a method of working. It became a way to test alignment between the kitchen and the bar and to refine how food and drink can move together. The result felt grounded.
Nothing was rushed. Nothing needed to announce itself.
A Table That Knew When to Pause
As the evening progressed, the pacing held. Guests lingered not because they were encouraged to, but because nothing pushed the experience toward an early conclusion. Conversations stretched. Flavors settled. The table maintained its rhythm until it reached a natural close. When 8 Hands ended, it did so quietly, without a finale and without urgency. In collaborative dining, that restraint often leaves the strongest impression.
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Jalan Villa Kandara
Banjar Wijaya Kusuma
Ungasan, Uluwatu, Bali 80362
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