Wongso works to promote Indonesian cuisine

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): "Visitors to Indonesia have often asked me a simple yet difficult question: 'What is Indonesian food?'" says Indonesian culinary expert William Wirjaatmaja Wongso.

Before he was able to answer the question, he had to consult all the local cuisine books and taste the rich variety of dishes from the country's 27 provinces.

"But I still find it very hard to answer the question, mostly raised by internationally-acclaimed chefs, food writers and businessmen," says Wongso, who is also known as a prominent wine- taster and a leading food entrepreneur.

Starting his career as a radio programmer, Wongso is now one of the country's leading gourmets. He is probably the right person to ask about Indonesian cuisine and its history. He is also at the forefront of an effort to make Indonesia's rich and varied cuisine more accessible through various culinary institutes in Jakarta and other Indonesian cities, as well as abroad.

"I am not a chef. I just love food and see it as an art form that should be appreciated correctly. I make serious efforts to learn all about Indonesian as well as international dishes," he says.

His involvement in the food industry began when Wongso's father-in-law talked him into taking over the family's small bread-making business in l977.

At that time he knew nothing about either bread or food generally. Nevertheless, his curiosity was aroused and he left his job at a commercial radio station in Surabaya and took on the bread business with enthusiasm.

"I decided to learn about the business abroad," he says. He later went to study bread-making in Australia and the United States. He also made a stop in New Caledonia in the South Pacific, where he learned how to make French bread.

The small family shop that began baking plain white bread has, in the space of a few decades, become a booming business with nine branches in Jakarta, selling more than 150 items. Wongso supplies bread to some of Jakarta's most exclusive restaurants and himself now owns a number of Japanese and Italian restaurants, including Shabu-Shabu, Hanamasha Yakiniku, William's Grill & Cafe and Il Punto.

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Wongso says most foreigners only recognize a small number of Indonesian dishes, such as satay, gado-gado (mixed vegetables with peanut sausage) and nasi goreng (fried rice).

That is because other dishes are rarely served in restaurants and hotels, he said, while numerous other dishes are found only at small food stalls.

"No wonder many visitors have never touched this kind of food -- they have never been taken to such places!" Wongso exclaims.

As a matter of fact, Indonesia has an abundance of dishes, all of which are delicious, says Wongso proudly.

Talking about Indonesian cuisine, Wongso enthusiastically explains that many dishes will soon become "endangered species" unless there are serious efforts to preserve and promote them properly.

Regarding the government's "back-to-basics" program of encouraging Indonesians to eat more traditional food, as opposed to western fast food, Wongso says the program will be "quite good" if it is applied consistently.

"In reality, it is only a 'NATO' ('No Action, Talk Only') campaign," Wongso says, adding that many government officials dealing with food issues do not know what are they campaigning about.

"There is no proper concept to make the program applicable," he says.

For instance, he says, government officials keep clearing areas in which traditional food is served. This is done in the name of national development.

"If we want to be honest, the existence of those food vendors are very important in preserving ethnic food. How many large- scale restaurants are serving genuine Indonesian food? You can count them on your fingers," Wongso says.

Political will

Strong political will be necessary to boost the country's traditional food industry, he adds.

Compared with neighboring countries, such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, Indonesia lags behind in the promotion of traditional food, Wongso says.

Thailand's food industry is in front because the government fully supports the people's attitude toward their ethnic cuisine, he says.

"Thai people are very proud of their traditional food. Whenever they receive foreign guests they gladly introduce them to their traditional food.

"There would be nothing wrong in following the example provided by the Thai people in their promotion of their traditional food," the father of two children adds.

Many Indonesian people are still reluctant to offer local food to foreigners, he says.

Wongso notes that the coming Jakarta Food Festival is more a promotion of foreign food than a promotion of local cuisine. "Many participants are foreign or franchise restaurants, so how can it be called an event promoting local food?" he asks.

"We could actually have many more effective promotional activities, such as holding competitions among talented local chefs or presenting traditional food from the country's provinces," says Wongso.

As president of the Indonesian chapter of the Confreire De La Chaine Des Rotisseurs, a worldwide group of food connoisseurs, Wongso is working hard to both increase Indonesian awareness of international cuisines and, at the same time, bring Indonesian food to the world's attention.

"My ultimate goal now is to improve the quality of Indonesian food and to create a more sophisticated market for it -- because our food is so unique," he says.

Wongso and a number of journalist friends established the Indonesian Culinary Institute in 1989, where cooking is taught to both lay people and professionals. One of the institute's goals is to hold a workshop to encourage food journalism. In addition, the institute also conducts tests and records recipes of traditional Indonesian dishes.

Wongso has also started to document Indonesian food and to seek out talented cooks in every province.

"My obsession is to set up a restaurant serving Indonesian food from each of the 27 provinces," he says wistfully.