Indonesia Boosts Free Meals Programme with Nationwide Chef Training
Indonesia’s Creative Economy Ministry is stepping up chef training to boost the quality of the government’s free nutritious meals programme, aiming to raise food standards while supporting the culinary industry and local economic growth.
Creative Economy Minister Teuku Riefky Harsya said the MASAMO, or Cooking with Master Chefs, programme strengthens kitchen workforce skills and expands creative industry involvement to lift national culinary standards and regional economic output.
“Through MASAMO, we are strengthening kitchen human resources while encouraging creative industry participation to raise culinary standards and generate tangible local economic impact,” Riefky said in a statement released in Jakarta on Monday.
The initiative supports President Prabowo Subianto’s directive to revive intellectual property-based creative industries nationwide, with culinary prioritised among 17 subsectors targeted as new drivers of economic growth.
MASAMO delivers hands-on training for cooks at Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG), or kitchens, focusing on menu quality, variety, hygiene, and nutritional content in line with National Nutrition Agency standards.
The latest session takes place at SPPG Rajabasa 3 in Lampung, involving the ministry, provincial and city governments, the National Nutrition Agency, kitchen managers, national kitchenware producer Oxone, and MasterChef Indonesia judge Chef Norman Ismail.
A total of 50 SPPG cooks undergo intensive training covering food safety, personal hygiene, ingredient management, cooked food storage, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points application, healthy cooking, and efficient community kitchen operations.
Riefky said the programme currently reaches about 65 million beneficiaries nationwide through more than 21,897 SPPG units.
This year, coverage is targeted to exceed 83 million recipients, supported by more than 36,600 SPPG units across Indonesia.
He said the programme extends beyond nutrition for schoolchildren, pregnant women, and toddlers, emphasising consistent quality, hygiene, and nutritional standards nationwide.
Lampung is seen as having strong potential in culinary, fashion, crafts, and digital content, with cross-sector collaboration key to lifting local brands to national and global markets.
The Lampung MASAMO training highlights multi-stakeholder synergy in advancing national priorities while energising local economies tied to the free meal supply chain.