TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ramadhan and Eid a-Fitr festivities in some regions are really a celebration of rice. According to Arie Parikesit, such traditional fare has been the mainstay for ages, before the influence of Dutch cuisine permeated Indonesian society. "In the past, it was unlikely we made kue bolu (cupcakes). We didn't even have wheat flour," he said. To celebrate special occasions, people selected items that were easy to obtain, like rice and sticky rice.
Arie is known for promoting traditional cuisine. Along with fellow veteran culinary expert, Bondan Winarno, he established Kelanarasa, a culinary consulting company and event organizer. They travel around the country and overseas to promote traditional cuisine.
Two weeks ago, Tempo reporter Syari Fani interviewed 38-year old Arie at the Pejaten shopping center in South Jakarta. Excerpts:
In a number of regions, people cook rice to become special dishes during Ramadan and Idul Fitri holidays. What's so special about them?
Everyday, most Indonesians eat rice. On big holidays, they want to do something with the basic easy-to-get ingredient, and make it special. With the addition of sugar, bananas, coconut and a different way of cooking, the results can be very special. Lebaran dishes or those for the fasting period usually take a long time to prepare, or are prepared by groups of people. All this shows how special major holidays are.
Are there plans to promote overseas dishes prepared for the holy month, given such traditions are 'saleable'?
One of the strategies of Indonesian culinary observers and the government, is to market food which are easy to duplicate in other countries. One special Lebaran dish that we have been promoting overseas is tape ketan (fermented sticky rice). It tastes sweet, so foreign tastes can appreciate it. The raw materials, like yeast, can also be obtained overseas.
In your opinion, why are these special dishes difficult to get during non-Ramadan or Idul Fitri holidays?
This is not typical to Indonesia, but happens in other countries too, because the descendants of the proprietor of the rare dishes don't always want to continue making it some thinking it not 'cool' to continue an age-old tradition. Why on earth get a high educatgion simply to continue selling your parent's wares? This can be overcome by empowering the consumers. We must raise the demand for traditional food. If it becomes profitable, there is no reason to discard a parent's heritage.
What is the best way to raise consumers' appreciation?
This should be the work of food advocates, chefs, culinary experts, bloggers and the media. We must convince the public that producers of traditional food are true professionals. Their products are good and we help to preserve national cuisine. I see the development of Indonesian traditional cuisine as being very positive. The arrival of fast food in the culinary industry once undermined traditional cuisine. But in the past decade, culinary fans have returned to their roots. Look how popular booths selling Madura duck rice and coto Makassar have become, not like before when we had a hard time looking for them. And nowadays, many university graduates are turning to this national culinary business.
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