Preparing haj pilgrims' meals no piece of cake

Preparing haj pilgrims' meals no piece of cake

JAKARTA (JP): Preparing meals for pilgrims awaiting their departure at haj dormitories is as much a burden as feeding troops.

"What's the similarity between pilgrims and army troops? Their food," joked Capt. Imam Santoso, the coordinator of food services for the pilgrims at the Pondok Gede haj dormitory, East Jakarta, and a senior nutritionist at the Gatot Subroto military hospital.

Imam explained that rituals involved in the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, are indeed as arduous as military training, which is why both groups need the best nutrition they can get.

"They both get 3,500 grams of carbohydrates and 125 grams of protein in their daily meals, plus fruit," Imam said.

For breakfast, the pilgrims get rice, meat, fried eggs, vegetables, fruit and a glass of milk. For lunch, they get rice, spicy chicken, vegetables, tahu and tempe (soybean cakes), a selection of fruit and krupuk (cracker). After lunch, they get some snacks, and tea or coffee. For dinner, there is rice, a meat roll, shrimp, vegetables and fruit.

The pilgrims only stay at the haj dormitory one or two days before they leave for Saudi Arabia.

Paiman T. Kusumo, a colleague of Imam, said the dormitory serves 18,000 portions to pilgrims and officials every day. "We cook at least two tons of rice and 500 kilograms of vegetables on stoves using 17 tanks of gas every day," he added.

There are a total of 3,840 pilgrims and 2,000 haj officials to be served each day, said Paiman, who has been working at the same job for 24 years.

The massive cooking activities involve 490 people, including six senior cooks and four nutritionists, toiling over hot stoves day and night.

All of the pilgrims staying at the five haj dormitories -- in Jakarta, Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi, Medan in North Sumatra and Surabaya in East Java -- get similar menus.

The haj fee this year is Rp 7,290,000 per person.

Despite all the bustle, this year's haj season has been much easier to handle than last year's, Paiman said. Chaotic operations last year forced thousands of pilgrims to stay days -- even weeks -- at the dormitories.

"And they all needed their meals," Paiman pointed out.

Neither Imam nor Paiman was complaining. They said they are often tired out after the long days of tending to the pilgrims, but agreed that their work is just ibadah, a religious service in the hope of seeking Allah's blessing.

"We are serving the guests of Allah here," Imam said.

Haj pilgrims go to the Kaaba, the holy shrine in Mecca, which they also call the House of Allah. They are therefore called the guests of Allah.

"As long as there are no complaints about our food, we're happy," Paiman said.

Amih, a prospective pilgrim from Depok, West Java, agreed. "The meals being served here are good, delicious. They taste just like home cooking."

"Not bad," said Sadiah from Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

Agus, a security officer deployed at the Pondok Gede haj dormitory, said the meals are exactly the same as those he received during military training.

"The meals taste like hospital food," another complained. (01)