Chaine des Rotisseurs concocts archipelagic potpourri
By Bruce Emond
JAKARTA (JP): It was time to check all dietary proscriptions at the door on a visit to one of the bimonthly get-togethers of Chaines des Rotisseurs.
Food, glorious food is always atop of the agenda for the organization, whose pursuit of the best culinary delights harks back to the era when food was not a dirty word. The Jakarta chapter, founded in 1978, and 119 branches worldwide are culinary descendants of a medieval group which vetted the vittles for French royal palates. Bringing together hotel managers, chefs and those from outside the food sphere, contemporary members share an overriding bond of enjoying the finest gastronomy can offer.
A glutfest for the well-heeled? Not quite, according to Jakarta Hilton General Manager Michael Nigitsch. "It is all about the presentation, arrangement, and complexity of the menu. It is not about volume, but the primary idea is to enjoy the culinary experience."
Chaine dinners shift between different hotel restaurant locations, with last month's held at the Hilton. The weeks preceding each dinner are spent painstakingly devising the various elements of the dinner -- the theme, menu items, accompanying wines, table settings, decorations, even garnishes -- down to the finest details.
The Hilton evening, a journey through the culinary riches of the Indonesian archipelago, was no exception. Every exquisite aspect was perfected and choreographed to run like clockwork.
Guests streamed into the Hilton's Golden Ballroom and were ushered to their tables, each named after a particular Indonesian region, by young women in traditional dress. The room -- bedecked in stunning local textiles and quaint touches of bird cages and palm trees -- was transformed into a tableau of the nation's proverbial melting pot.
The table by itself was a feast for the eyes. Huge brass plates held an array of favorite Indonesian crackers, from flimsy peanut rempeyek to prawn kerupuk. Menus were beautifully appointed, illustrated by up-and-coming artist Bimo, as a keepsake of what turned out to be a memorable evening.
Food, of course, was the centerpiece. The assignment had been for the Hilton chefs to give a nouvelle cuisine makeover to Indonesian culinary mainstays (which Nigitsch termed "slightly neglected" on the international culinary front). In nearly every case, the marriage was a rousing success.
The journey began in Jakarta with a Betawi vegetable terrine, tiered layers of cabbage, tempeh and green beans served with a dribble of spicy peanut sauce. An upmarket variation on gado- gado, it made for a light appetizer.
Next stop was East Java, with Pamekasan consomme. Heady with the aromas of lemon grass and fragrant lime, the beef consomme was embellished with a single quail egg.
The personal favorite was the Manadonese chicken cooked in bamboo. The tender chunks of meat simmered with a medley of intoxicating spices was delicious, balanced by the comparative blandness of slivers of fresh palm heart.
Five spice tea granite, a West Java crushed-ice concoction in which the taste of cinnamon and cloves predominated, cleared the palate for the entry from South Sulawesi: a gratin basil crust fringing mouth-watering salmon mousse over a red snapper fillet.
The chefs could have been forgiven for trundling out tired renditions of old favorites on the dessert trolley after the spectacular preceding lineup. Thankfully, it was not the case.
The desserts -- spice layered cake with mango mousse, a novel carrot and vanilla ice, and coconut tart -- fully lived up to their advance billing as sweet shadows from the puppet master.
The evening was rounded out by steaming cups of Toraja coffee and a selection of chocolates. Sated by good food and agreeable conversation, diners bid farewells and headed home after reliving the dying art of fine dining.