ASTRID ENRICKA DHITA
Even though she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in French Literature, Astrid cannot deny her passion for food. Astrid was born and raised in Dumai, Riau Province. Her childhood dream was to have her own restaurant. Her dream came true in 2012 when she opened an Acehnese restaurant called Ayam Tangkap Atjeh Rayeuk with a signature dish of spiced chicken.
Astrid is heavily involved in Aku Cinta Masakan Indonesia (ACMI), an Indonesian culinary enthusiasts movement, and is busy promoting Indonesian cuisine by doing live cooking shows on various local TV channels, including MetroTV, SCTV and KompasTV. Chef Astrid, specializing in seafood and Acehnese cuisine and has also taught several cooking classes with Martha Stewart Living Indonesia magazine and the International Cultural Summer Schools.
BARA PATTIRADJAWANE
Bara Pattiradjawane has been exposed to various cuisines around the world since young, when he lived in Thailand, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and France following his father’s diplomatic postings. Although he has no formal culinary education, his talent and passion in the culinary world developed his skills and arts in cooking and baking, and he became a professional chef 20 years ago.
Bara has hosted famous cooking shows since 2005. Traveling extensively around Indonesia for his show reignited his creativity in recreating Indonesia’s regional dishes with his personal twists. He is a judge of Junior Master Chef Indonesia and is busy with his radio cooking show and developing his personal video channel on Youtube, “Bara Supercook.” See Bara at the Gourmet Gallery Show Kitchen on 14 October!
BONDAN WINARNO
Bondan Winarno is an acclaimed writer, culinary presenter, food expert and restaurant owner. Through his famous TV show, Wisata Kuliner (Culinary Journey), he has introduced the importance of coffee and Indonesian cuisine in Jakarta and throughout Indonesia. In 2014, his book, 100 Best Street Food of Indonesia, received an award for Best in the World from Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. His book has become the guide for Indonesians and International tourists seeking great Indonesian street food.
Bondan’s extensive career as a journalist and Editor-In-Chief did not stop him from being a true foodie. Bondan also represents many Indonesian cooking brands such as: Kecap Bango, Sasa, and Mak Nyus rice, specially using his famous quip ‘Mak Nyus!‘ or directly translated as ‘So Delicious!’ His new book, Kecap Manis, Indonesian National Condiment, (Thick Sweet Soy Sauce) will be launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair with a food tasting of various dishes cooked with this condiment.
BUDI LEE
Often regarded as an exemplary model of Indonesia’s generation Y chef, Chef Budi has conquered almost all continents at such a young age, spreading his passion for Indonesian food by joining Indonesian food promotion missions abroad. Educated mainly abroad, he returned to Indonesia in 2009 to work in Bali, reigniting his passion for Indonesian food.
He represented Indonesia at the Worlds Association of Chef Society and was the team leader for the Young Indonesian Culinary Team at the International Young Chef Competition. His dedication and resilience has also led him to become the President of the Young Chefs Club Indonesia in 2012. Budi is also chef/host for Chef Surprise and Modishfication TV programs on MNC Lifestyle. Chef Budi will be cooking at Freitagsküche Mainzer on 16 October 2015 for a Special Friday night event.
HELIANTI HILMAN
Inspired by Indonesian culinary tradition and rich heritage food biodiversity, Helianti created PT. Kampung Kearifan Indonesia or more famously known as Javara in August 2008. Javara focuses on natural and organic food products and now supplies over 300 retailers around the world. After seven years, Javara has now more than 50,000 local farmers and 50 food artisans in Indonesia as its partners.
For her dedication, Helianti has received numerous awards including Ernst & Young’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year. She believes that ingredients in a dish are not only important for the taste, but also have to stimulate each of the five senses. For the first time in the history of Frankfurt Book Fair, you will see spices displayed as an art installation created by Helianti and her team. Also do not miss the food tastings and workshops on a variety of spices conducted by Helianti at the Spice Island Café.
EMMANUEL JULIO
Chef Julio is the Chef de Cuisine of Sriwijaya Restaurant, a fine dining restaurant at The Dharmawangsa Hotel, responsible for the new concept “Progressive Indonesian Dining,” a modern approach of Indonesian cuisine combining East and West flavour in most elegant presentations. During Chef Julio’s 14 years experience, his huge talents and skills brought him to join the world’s best culinary team at the Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta and Dubai, and the Armani Hotel Dubai where he received Simply Fantastico Award in 2011.
Chef Julio lives with his point-of-view of a great chef: the one who put his soul and love to the food they created. Do not miss Chef Julio’s great talents at Freitagsküche MMK from 14-17 October.
IVAN LEONARD
Ivan graduated in 2011 from Trisakti Institute of Tourism. Following his belief in the importance of culinary education, Ivan has been active at Young Chef Club Indonesia and was elected as the president in 2014. As an emerging chef with a vision, he received the Silver Award at the 2013 International Young Chef Challenge in South Korea. During his free time, he arranges cooking and tasting classes and food photography. Expanding his interests, he is starting to be a food consultant, specializing in Asian cuisine. Ivan will be cooking at the Freitagsküche Mainzer with Chef Budi Lee on Friday, 16 October 2015.
JANET DENEEFE
Melbourne-born Janet DeNeefe first traveled to Bali, Indonesia in 1974 with her family. She returned ten years later, fell in love with a local man and decided to make Bali her home. She has founded two restaurants in Ubud, Casa Luna and Indus, as well as the Casa Luna Cooking School, which attracts thousands of visitors each year. Janet is also the founder of the annual Ubud Writers & Readers Festival and the new Ubud Food Festival.
Janet published Fragrant Rice, a memoir about her life in Bali with recipes in 2004 and Bali: The Food of My Island Home, her cookbook, was published in 2011. Janet will bring her delicious stories to the Frankfurt Book Fair this October.
LISA VIRGIANO
For almost ten years, Lisa has been creating unique Indonesian culinary experiences. Tired of generic restaurant menus, she first established Underground Secret Dining by Azanaya in 2009, which was highly acclaimed as a ‘must experience’ alternative food culture in Indonesia, receiving accolades from the Wall Street Journal and Channel News Asia. She also set up Maharasa Indonesia, The Grand Indonesian Taste, a collaborative project serving Indonesian themed cuisine by using artisanal ingredients from regions in the archipelago, sourced directly from the most talented farmers, breeders, and fishermen.
She is now working tirelessly with Indonesian Coffee Project to improve the quality and production of Indonesian coffee beans. This initiative involves coffee farmers, agricultural experts, chefs/baristas, and coffee gourmands by educating the farmers about the coffee process and providing fair premium prices for coffee beans. Lisa will be bring Indonesia’s best coffees to the Frankfurt Book Fair. Listen to her coffee stories and do not miss the opportunity to join Lisa’s coffee tasting sessions.
MARY JANE EDLESON
Mary Jane Edleson is a culinary educator, organic gardener, author and artist. She has lived and worked in numerous countries throughout Asia, including some 35 years in Indonesia. She is a founding member of the Bali Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, director of Amertha Studios, and convivium leader of Slow Food Bali. She was also founder and president for 20 years of Pacific Century Associates, a regional marketing and communications company based in Indonesia. She is the author and editor of numerous articles and books on many aspects of Indonesian life and culture.
Mary Jane did post-graduate Asian studies, and holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree, and is a certified chef and instructor in ‘living food.’ She has studied at several International culinary institutes in the United States and Asia, and has a special interest in food fermentation. Her Bali food gardens are noteworthy for their abundance and variety. Her main life passion is the study of world foods and its relationship to culture. She will bring her passion about slow and organic food to the Frankfurt Book Fair.
MEI BATUBARA
Mei has said, “design is my love, but food is my long time affair.” After meeting her chef husband in 2000, Mei fell in love with food and now combines her background as a designer with the world of cuisine. They successfully opened Dixie, a casual restaurant now with several branches, and from then on Mei continues to be a restaurant consultant.
Mei is also passionate about cultivating the potential of Indonesian culinary treasures, and is currently involved in several culinary revitalization projects across the country. Her Indonesian Coffee Project aims to promote the development of a variety of Indonesian coffees. In Jailolo, North of Moluccas, one of the Spice Islands famously known in the old world trading routes, they are developing new culinary products. While in Jakarta, she is reorganizing its street food life around the historical National Monument area. Her dedication in the culinary world does not stop there; Mei is co-writing her graphic novel based on the culinary culture of Minang in West Sumatra, entitled Balada Balado (Balado Balads).
PETTY ELLIOT
Petty Elliott is a well-known food critic, writer and self-taught chef, based in Jakarta. She established a boutique catering and high-end private dining service; a seat in one of her cooking experiences is considered a coveted gastronomic coup. Her first book, Papaya Flower, was published in 2009, and drew extensively on the culinary traditions and local ingredients of her birthplace, Manado, North Sulawesi. After moving to Jakarta in her young age, she spent time in the United Kingdom, where on a whim, she participated successfully in the BBC Master Chef competition in 2001.
Today in Jakarta, she also writes for Jakarta Globe, the national daily newspaper and Now! Jakarta, a monthly entertainment magazine. Following her passion for sourcing Indonesian ingredients of the finest quality, Petty launched her spice blend product line in June 2015. Petty will launch her new book, Jakarta Bites, at the Frankfurt Book Fair at the Gourmet Gallery on 15 October 2015. Not to be missed is Petty’s special degustation dinner at Villa Kennedy, where she will take her guests on a culinary experience of modern Indonesian cuisine.
PUTRI MUMPUNI
Putri’s culinary journey with Indonesia’s Food Diplomacy program has taken her across many countries including Germany, Seoul, Singapore and the Czech Republic. At such a young age, she has also stamped International footprints in seven culinary universities around the United States teaching variety and techniques of Indonesian food.
Originally from Jogjakarta, she began learning the complexities of Indonesian cuisine from childhood. Her education at a vocational cooking school brought her to work at restaurants and hotels before becoming a finalist in Indonesia’s Top Chef reality cooking contest. She now travels all over the world, conducting cooking classes on Indonesian cuisine. You will see Putri conducting classes for the Food Explorer program at the Frankfurt Book Fair’s Classroom of the Future.
RAGIL WIBOWO
Chef Ragil and food go a long way back. His dream was always to become a chef and it all began at the age of five years old when he started mixing spices in his mother’s kitchen. Chef Ragil started his career in various restaurants and hotels including the Millennium Hotel and Grand Hyatt Jakarta before venturing into his own business. His talents have won him numerous awards such as gold medal at the Salon Culinaire in Jakarta, a five-time winner for Western food cooking at Allez Cuisine, and Iron Chef Indonesia. His passion, talent and a warm personality have opened many doors for Chef Ragil as he became a chef host in the popular Makan Besar (Big Feast) TV cooking show.
Chef Ragil’s unique creativity combined with his understanding of current dining trends has helped him expand his portfolio adding Dixie, Warung Pasta, Clove and Ginger Li, to his long list of projects. He also the co-founder of Maharasa Indonesia, a movement aimed at showcasing Indonesian culinary heritage in creative and fun ways. During the Frankfurt Book Fair, people will have a chance to enjoy his talents at numerous places around the old town of Frankfurt with Indonesia’s Kaki Lima Literature Program (Five Legged Street Carts) that is co-organized with the City of Frankfurt.
SANDRA DJOHAN
Many might be intimidated with the complexities of gourmet cooking but not Chef Sandra. She has always been fascinated with how gourmet food combines quality ingredients and has mixed this with the preciseness of Indonesian flavours, to create amazing taste. Having been enriched by her experiences in California and Paris, Sandra opened her first restaurant Coquelicot Le Bistro in 2004. In 2011, she opened a boutique French-Indonesian bistro, Epilogue, where she is impressing gourmands with her mastery over both cuisines.
She continued her gastronomic journey as she became a co-host of Spice of Life, a TV program currently aired over the Asian Food Channel. Chef Sandra combines her love of writing and cooking by contributing her thoughts to many famous magazines. In 2014, she published her first cooking book, From My Kitchen to Yours and is publishing new cookbooks: My Heritage, My Modern Indonesia, and From the Street to My Kitchen. The books have become the window for her interpretation of Indonesian cooking in a contemporary and refined way. Chef Sandra will showcase her cooking at the Gourmet Gallery on 16 October 2015 and at the Villa Kennedy during her special degustation dinner.
SANTHI SERAD
When Santhi was little, her mother introduced her the concept of ‘high tea’ by providing various teas, homemade herbal drinks and traditional snacks. Santhi’s curiosity about food and realization that Indonesia is blessed with many natural resources inspired her to pursue her degree in Food Science and Technology at Curtin University of Technology, Australia.
Santhi explored many untouched places, including areas in the Eastern part of Indonesia, gathering herbs and spices to be planted in her garden, Bumi Herbal Dago. The garden cultivates many indigenous plants and spices including many endangered medicinal herbs. Now the garden is visited by many people from around to world to look for these unique herbs. Santhi spends a lot of her time traveling around the archipelago, educating local farmers and helping them find distribution networks for their crops. In 2012, Santhi created Aku Cinta Masakan Indonesia (ACMI), an outlet for foodies to exchange stories with exciting culinary activities, including potluck events, culinary sharing and diplomacy, and cooking clinics. Do not miss Santhi’s talk on Indonesian tea and tea tasting workshop at the Gourmet Gallery. Her book about Indonesian Herbal Tea will also be launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
SISCA SOEWITOMO
Chef Sisca was one of the pioneers of the Indonesian culinary world. She started selling her homemade donuts when she was 12 years old in the 1950s. Now, Sisca has published more than 130 cookbooks, many of which are bestsellers. Her cookbooks are widely known for their practicality and simplicity. Sisca is known as ’the mother of all chefs,’ having lectured at Trisakti Tourism College, one of Indonesia’s biggest tourism institutions, where many famous chefs have graduated from.
Her contributions to the culinary scene increased when she started to become a consultant for restaurants and TV programs. She is also the recipient of many awards and is the brand ambassador for many products such as Unilever’s Royco and ORI Coconut Water. She will demonstrate how to prepare three basic Indonesian spice mixes: red, yellow, and white pastes, and provide food tasting at the Gourmet Gallery Salon on 17 October 2015.
SUDARIUS TJAHJA
Chef Darius has traveled to more than ten countries as a member of Indonesia Food Promotion team. Educated in Indonesia, his worldly talents brought to work in numerous five star hotels such as The Four seasons and JW Marriott, as well as some prominent restaurants in the Netherlands and Australia. In 2009, Chef Darius received Bronze Medal for Indonesia Modern Live Cooking. He strives to make Indonesian cuisine Internationally known and he believes that through introducing many local spices and ingredients, people can savor each bite.
VINDEX TENGKER
Chef Vindex is one of the legendary chefs of Indonesia. He has spent most of his culinary career working in kitchens in Indonesia and abroad. He is also known as one of the judges of Master Chef Indonesia and is a jury member in more than 15 cooking competitions around Asia. He began his career as a chef in Amandari Resort, Bali and continued his professional journey as the executive chef at five-star hotels including the Four Seasons Jakarta and Jakarta’s famous boutique hotel, The Dharmawangsa. He recently opened his own consultancy business and is now head of national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia’s inflight catering.
Vindex was the president of the Jakarta Association of Culinary Professionals and was chosen as one of the Ten Best Chefs in Indonesia by Harper’s Bazaar Indonesia. Chef Vindex’s reputable culinary career, ability to stay ahead of the dining curve and distinct approachability will only continue to enhance his highly celebrated talent. Chef Vindex will launch his book, Iconic Indonesian Dishes the Frankfurt Book Fair with a cooking demonstration at the Gourmet Gallery on Saturday 17 October. Chef Vindex will also be cooking special dinners at Freitagskuche MMK (Museum für moderne Kunst) on 14 – 17 October 2015.
WILLIAM WONGSO
William is famous as being Indonesia’s culinary godfather, well known as a restaurateur, food consultant and critique, and was the host of celebrated television culinary series, Kulinaria and Cooking Adventure with William Wongso on Metro TV. In more than 30 years of culinary experience, he has pioneered numerous restaurants, new culinary concepts and culinary movements, and has successfully lead Indonesian culinary missions to more than 30 countries.
William has published many books, including Flavors of Indonesia and his bestselling mini cookbook series: Indonesian Home Cooking, Western Sumatra, and Indonesian Dessert. William will bring his delicious creations to Spice Island Café at the Frankfurt Book Fair. William will be performing at the Gourmet Gallery Show Kitchen on 18 October.
