Jakarta, 9 September 2011
Top chefs from ASEAN Member States and Dialogue Partners, including member countries from the European Union as well as Pakistan, will be serving culture on a plate to the Jakartans when each whip up popular cuisines from their respective country to almost ten thousand shoppers who will throng the La Piazza mall in Kelapa Gading next weekend, 16-18 September.
Mr Djauhari Oratmangun, Direrctor-General of ASEAN-Indonesia, said although rice is the most fundamental similarity among the food in all ASEAN countries, there are far more variety in food offerings than what is already commonly known among the 600 million citizens of ASEAN. “The inaugural ASEAN Culinary Festival is expected to create a sense of belonging, and enhance deeper mutual understanding among ASEAN society. All these will mark an important milestone to bring ASEAN closer to the society in a move towards realising the ASEAN Community by 2015.”
The first ASEAN Plus Culinary Festival 2011 is jointly organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia – Indonesia is the Chair of ASEAN this year – and the ASEAN Secretariat, as well as the Indonesian Chef Association (ICA) and local media partners.
Celebrity chef, Mr Yongki Gunawan, said cooking is a form of art, and so is “the blend of balanced natural ingredients that harmonise and synchronize the whole body system.” He said the theme, “Colors of ASEAN Culinary and International Cuisine” means there will be much to expect from a weekend of food fair that will not only serve food, but show how the food was prepared. Chef Margie Gunawan said the event is an opportunity for every country to show and promote their unique traditional cuisine and culinary arts to visitors to explore and challenge their appetite buds.
Dialogue Partners such as China, Japan, as well as member countries of the European Union and Pakistan will also fly in their chefs to showcase the best the countries have to offer. Among the activities planned for the Festival are live cooking demonstrations, fruit and vegetable carvings, consultations with chefs about nutrition and modern food trends, food photography, and food fashion. Cultural performing arts such as traditional dances from the ASEAN Member States will also be take place throughout the festival.
The ASEAN Plus Culinary Festival 2011 will be ongoing for three days from 16-18 September in La Piazza mall in Kelapa Gading. “Kelapa Gading is the food capital of Jakarta, and there is no better place to bring the region’s food to the Jakarta than to them all showcased at Kelapa Gading.” In that respect, he thanked PT Summarecon Agung Tbk for its support in this event.
Mr Soeginato Nagaria, Director of PT Summarecon Agung Tbk said it is social responsibility to introduce ASEAN’s heterogeneous cultures, and an enjoyable and educational way to break the ice would be through the familiarisation of the culinary diversity, to raise the awareness on all levels of the society about what makes a truly authentic ASEAN cuisine.”
