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DIASPORA wants Indonesian cuisine to be present more widely in the UK which is recognized as a soft power for diplomacy. Moreover, Indonesia has a culture, tradition and culinary wealth that has the potential to penetrate not only the British market, but the world.
According to the Embassy of the Indonesian Embassy in London, Hartyo Harkomoyo said the recognition of Indonesian culinary opportunities was revealed in a virtual meeting of British Indonesian lovers with the theme “Indonesian Cuisine” held by the Indonesian Embassy in London in collaboration with The Anglo-Indonesian Society (AIS), in London.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Business Authority in London Adam M. Tugio said the virtual event was aimed at promoting culinary and increasing understanding of Indonesian culture to the British people. Specifically the discussion session focused on gaining insight into strategies to strengthen the promotion of Indonesian cuisine in the UK.
For this reason, he said, the Indonesian Embassy in London and AIS invited Chef William Wongso, Chef Petty Elliott and Sri Owen to share their experiences with the British people in the virtual meeting.
The Indonesian Embassy in London also invited local residents from various backgrounds including young professionals, culturalists, culinary lovers and Indonesianists.
Likewise Chef William Wongso, who successfully brought British Chef Gordon Ramsay and National Geographic to produce an episode of Uncharted Series: Western Sumatra, invites the diaspora to continue promoting Indonesian cuisine.
“Indonesian Representatives played a very large role in supporting the diaspora. Public and private partnerships are also important in strengthening culinary promotion efforts,” he said.
The culinary diplomacy approach does not have to be to open a restaurant, it can also be an event to introduce a wealth of spices. Chef William invites the promotion of Indonesian spices to be known globally.
While Chef Petty Elliott and Sri Owen said the potential of Indonesian culinary developed in England. “This is based on the development of increasingly popular trends in food that are plant based,” said Chef Petty.
Petty gave an example, tempeh is now a favorite food and can be found in various famous supermarkets in the UK. Similarly, Indonesian culinary ingredients are almost 90 percent available in the UK. [antaranews/photo special]
