Made With Love Recap And Ending Explained: Did Umah Rasa Receive Craft Star?

Narratives revolving around cooking, haute cuisine tend to follow a common structure and a set of tropes, ranging from clash of ideologies, rivalry between highly skilled chefs, lessons on leadership and camaraderie, conflict between reality and expectation, and lastly, the question of legacy. Netflix’s latest Indonesian series, “Made with Love”, falls into the same category, however, despite following these precepts to a T, it never feels mundane thanks to its rich visuals and the overall comforting vibe it exudes. The only drawback, or I should say missed opportunity, is the fact that the series doesn’t incorporate Indonesia’s rich food culture into the story the way it could have.

Spoilers Ahead

Leadership of Umah Rasa: Luka Locks Horns with Dennis

Sari Saraswati is the owner and head chef of one of Bali’s most acclaimed fine dining restaurants, Umah Rasa, and building her legacy from ground up, she has been running the restaurant for twenty-five years. A bona fide leader, Sari knows how important it is to maintain proper work decorum in the kitchen while keeping her team of chefs and stewards as a tight-knit family. Sari has been strict with her daughter, Luka, who has grown up to be a competent chef and, at present, acts as a sous chef in Umah Rasa. Luka and Sari share differing opinions about what their approach should be regarding the future of their restaurant. A traditional chef who values the quality of the food served and customer satisfaction, Sari isn’t concerned about her restaurant not following ongoing trends. Whereas Luka believes that in the midst of cutthroat competition, without becoming popular, the restaurant is going to suffer in the near future. She believes they should focus on achieving the much-coveted Craft Star, which is a recognition synonymous with a Michelin Star. in will boost the popularity of the restaurant for sure. However, Sari doesn’t believe so and insists on letting the service and gastronomic indulgence provided by their restaurant speak for itself. Luka notices that the restaurant next door, Chateau de Sanur, owned by a shrewd businessman, Mr. Hasnan, has received a Craft Star and fears lagging behind in completion, but Sari is as unbothered as ever. 

On one occasion, Mr. Eros, a representative of the organization which rewards Craft Stars, visits Sari at the restaurant, and shares his regret that despite having an unbelievable track record through all these years, Umah Rasa doesn’t have a Craft Star – and even though Sari doesn’t feel that her restaurant needs an award or label to be validated, knowing Sari’s talent, Eros wishes to see her appreciated. While serving Eros, Sari causes an unusual mishap in seasoning after suddenly losing her taste, and she initially feels that her recurring sinus problem has returned. However, the condition turns out to be permanent when, on a busy day, every customer complains about their food being too salty. A restaurant can’t be run by someone who has lost the most crucial sense one needs to become a chef, and this prompts Sari to step down to hand her duties over to a successor. Naturally, Luka assumes that she will finally be given the role of head chef and will run Umah Rasa according to her vision. However, Sari surprises everyone by inviting Dennis, a renowned chef who has just returned to Indonesia after working with celebrated chefs across the world, as the head chef of Umah Rasa. Dennis not only has the experience to carry on Sari’s mantle, but he also shares her philosophy. However, Luka is extremely disheartened upon realizing her mother doesn’t consider her to be worthy enough to carry on her family legacy, and starts seeing Dennis as her enemy, understandably. She expects Dennis to fail, but on the contrary, he starts solidifying his place in the restaurant despite not being well-liked by the kitchen crew. Luka’s personal feelings continue to get the better of her, and she cannot accept Dennis as head chef, despite the fact that Dennis tries his best to strike a good rapport with her. After Sari has stepped down, Umah Rasa is going through a bit of a slump, and it doesn’t help that two of its chief chefs can’t work together. Things take a dramatic turn when Luka challenges Dennis for a cook-off, and to her surprise, almost every one of the kitchen crew votes in favor of his dish. Luka is dismayed to such an extent that she quits her position in Umah Rasa.

Reconciliation And New Challenges

Adhering to her close friend, Gita’s advice, and after being chastised by her mother, Luka returns to Umah Rasa and meets Dennis to get her job back. Dennis reveals his true motive behind joining Sari’s restaurant – that even though he has worked with Craft Star-awarded restaurants in the past, he has never led a restaurant that didn’t have a Craft Star into obtaining one. He wants to achieve that with Umah Rasa, and after that, he will hand over the head chef position to Luka to do as she pleases. Luka agrees to play by the rules, and soon enough, the duo realizes how well they complement each other. Their combined approach takes Umah Rasa to a positive direction, and working together, they come up with a new seafood delicacy which proves to be an instant hit with the customers. Mr. Hasnan pays a visit to his ‘rival’ restaurant and, meeting with Dennis, offers him a position in his restaurant as he feels his talents are being wasted in Umah Rasa. Dennis declines his offer and doesn’t reveal details of the interaction with Luka. Hasnan takes a cunning approach to poach customers from Umah Rasa, as he forces their supplier to deliver all their products to his restaurant and even copies their seafood delicacy. However, Dennis and Luka’s teamwork turns things to their favour by threatening the supplier by pretending to take legal action. 

Eventually, Dennis and Luka get on better terms, and unbeknownst to her, Dennis learns that Luka’s so-called supportive boyfriend, Valdo, is cheating on her. Luka eventually learns about Valdo’s promiscuous activities and breaks up with her. Dennis provides her emotional support and also learns a bit more about Luka’s relationship with Sari. He has his own personal troubles brewing; his ex-wife, Joanna, who cheated on him with someone else, has not been able to accept their separation and now wants to get back together. On one occasion, Uka and Dennis unwind while having drinks together, and they end up giving in to their feelings for each other and get intimate. The growing bond of these two leaves a positive impact on Umah Rasa’s future as well, as they help each other to bring out the best of themselves. 

Why Does Dennis Quit Umah Rasa? What Happens to Sari?

Despite things going great between Luka and Dennis, upon learning how actively Joanna is still present in his life, Luca decides to excuse herself. What she doesn’t know is that, Dennis has already severed his past ties with Joanna by selling their house. Adamant on boosting the restaurant’s popularity on social media, Luka hires a marketing team, without informing Sari. Dennis warns her repeatedly that with ongoing costs and wages for the crew, they are not in a position to add on such a hefty financial burden. However, Luka remains resolute in her decision, which eventually doesn’t produce the desired result. To make up for the expenses, Dennis has no other option except to sell one of the refrigerators from the restaurant. Seeing him being approached by Hasnan at the same moment, Luka becomes suspicious about Dennis’ true intentions. It’s quite clear that Luka’s personal feelings getting hurt have prompted her to question Dennis’ credibility, who assured her time and again that he is willing to do whatever is necessary for the betterment of their restaurant.

A personal crisis shatters Luka’s world when, after having a comforting dinner with her extended family – the kitchen crew, Sari reveals that the real reason behind her loss of taste is that she is diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer. Under extreme pressure in both personal and professional life, Luka starts acting batty and jittery, and questions Dennis’ integrity in front of the kitchen crew. Knowing Luka isn’t in the right headspace at the moment, Dennis endures it. Luka eventually becomes busy with Sari’s treatment, and the high expenses make it difficult for Luka to carry on the duties of the restaurant. After providing two months of unpaid service, one of the chefs, Ken, has no other option except to leave Umah Rasa, with deep anguish as he considered his workplace to be his other family. Knowing she doesn’t have much time, Sari continues to try to reconnect with the chef inside her, only to realize her body is giving up bit by bit. Dennis tries to alleviate the situation by asking Luka to pay the crew by withholding his salary, as all he ever wanted was to help the restaurant reach its deserved glory, and for that, the salary is a small price to pay. However, Luka, who has turned Dennis into quite a punching bag by letting all her frustrations and anger out on him, blames his machinations for the downfall of their restaurant. Already on his last straw, Luka’s misplaced blame finally turned out to be enough for Dennis to quit his role and turn his back on Umah Rasa. Luka becomes the head chef at long last, but given how the situation has shaped up, she has no clue as to how to handle things. 

To cut down costs, Luka decides to reduce the price of the set menu, which temporarily brings customers back to the restaurant. Sari’s condition deteriorates, and back at their home, she tries to reconcile with Luka by mentioning she didn’t want to burden her with the responsibility of a leader; hence she didn’t make her head chef in the first place. On one occasion, a group of customers arrive at the restaurant, but the understaffed, overworked kitchen crew fail to serve the food in time, resulting in the dissatisfied customers leaving in anger. Feeling the failure cloud Luka’s mind, she ends up driving Gita, her best friend, away. Things continue to spiral down for Luka from this point, and Luka has to close the curtains on Umah Rasa. The kitchen crew, who put so much faith in her, don’t say a word as they leave, but Luka knows fully well that she has failed them, big time. 

Sari joins Luka for a walk on the beach and tries to comfort her by admitting she prioritized being a chef over her responsibilities as a mother, and encourages her daughter to choose her own path instead of trying to hold on to Sari’s legacy. Sari mentions how much Luka and Dennis complemented each other, which tragically turns out to be her final words before she passes away. Luca reflects on her mother’s past life, and her final interaction with Sari inspires her to make amends for her mistakes and approach Dennis with the request to rejoin her. It’s only after hitting rock bottom that Luka realizes she needs others to shoulder responsibilities and dial down her ego. Dennis accepts Luka’s apology but says he will not return. 

Did Umah Rasa Receive Craft Star?

In reality, Dennis’ experience in Umah Rasa was fulfilling enough to make him return, and his feelings for Luka were strong enough to make him reconsider his decision. He meets Luka at the closed restaurant, and while catching up over a few drinks, they decide to get Umah Rasa back on track again. Knowing how important financial aspects are at present, Luka decides to partner up with Mr. Hasnan, providing him a majority stake in the restaurant in exchange for becoming its investor. The truth is, Umah Rasa’s legacy is something that Hasnan’s restaurant can’t replicate, and he himself admits that Sari’s restaurant was leagues ahead of his own in terms of continuously producing delectable food. The opportunity of owning part of this legacy isn’t something Hasnan is going to pass up on, and for Luka, keeping her mother’s legacy alive is worth more than maintaining the rivalry with Hasnan. She rightly assesses that instead of competition, Umah Rasa can thrive with collaboration. Umah Rasa brings all the members of Sari’s kitchen crew, along with new faces, and opens up anew while keeping its soul intact. Anggi, one of the pastry chefs, who was an admirer of Luka, has chosen her own path and has opened her own eatery. A rebranded Umah Rasa becomes popular in no time. Mr. Eros pays a visit to the restaurant to meet with Luka and shares his belief that she has made her mother proud. 

Luka and Dennis are elated to receive a letter from Craft Star organization, and upon finding out that Umah Rasari is going to receive their prestigious award at long last. But to their absolute disbelief, one of the elderly employees, Mr. Ketut, who has been with the restaurant since the beginning, reveals Sari has received such an invitation letter for a long time and never accepted the award, as she strongly believed customer satisfaction and good food are the only validations her restaurant ever needed. Luka opens the restaurant’s safe and finds a dozen such letters, which just shows how great a chef Sari really was and how committed she was to her passion without ever seeking recognition for her craft. Luka has learned her lesson, and she too refuses to accept Craft Star. Umah Rasa continues its successful streak as the series reaches its conclusion, and, in celebration of its success, Luka and Dennis finally get back together. 

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