West Sumatra exports chefs to Malaysia

West Sumatra exports chefs to Malaysia

JAKARTA (JP): West Sumatra has found a potentially lucrative export commodity which, until now, has remained largely untapped: chefs of the spicy Padang cuisine.

Seven chefs left for Malaysia this week to work at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Johor Baru, after a recent exhibition of Padang cuisine proved to be successful, according to Antara.

The Padang food was well-liked not only by the locals but also appeared popular among Europeans, Americans, Chinese, Japanese and other Asian tourists visiting the Malaysian city, Gazali Hamzah, the head of the marketing of the West Sumatra Tourist Office, told the news agency. "They (the hotel management) are bringing in the chefs from Padang specifically to cater to the tourists."

He said among the most popular Padang dishes were rendang, dendeng balado and gulai (meat simmered in spices and coconut milk, spicy crisp beef strips and curry).

Gazali said the tourist office has also received queries from Singapore restaurants asking about employing chefs of Padang cuisine.

He said the increasing popularity of Padang cuisine is also an opportunity for West Sumatra to boost its tourist industry abroad. So far, the popularity of Padang cuisine has not been widely exploited to promote tourism in the province. (emb)