Kitchenesia sits down with Executive Chef Freddy Demianus of Santika Premiere Hotel Hayam Wuruk to talk about his views on the potential of Indonesian cuisine, and his culinary career journey from scratch.
Kitchenesia.com - Everyday is a busy day for Executive Chef Freddy Demianus of Santika Premiere Hayam Wuruk.
Most of the time, he’s found himself in the kitchen and eat-in counters: either inventing new dishes, making the classic ones even more tastier, or checking the quality of food and services.
At Santika Premiere Hayam Wuruk, he is responsible to oversee 2 restaurants: 22 Sky Longue and Kicir-Kicir Restaurant.
Now at a high-level job at such a young age, Chef Freddy didn't think so when I said his career path is considered smooth.
Instead, he claimed that he started everything at the rock bottom, even working below his skillset. “I never told my mother about my first job after college,” said Chef Freddy while having flashback.
Step by step, his career began to advance as he ventured out into other culinary business.
Starting as a steward in a restaurant, he expanded his culinary skills into bigger game, from cruise to hotels.
Working with diverse people throughout his career has made him realize that there is something not right in Indonesian cuisine.
Even though Indonesian food has a great potential, it is still less-known compared to the food from our neighbor countries, Malaysia or Thailand.
Therefore, while still working in a cruise, he made a major innovation that has since become a milestone in his career.
Could you tell us about your culinary career journey since graduation?
I graduated with hospitality degree in 1997, then moved to Singapore to work at an Asian restaurant there.
At first, I worked as a steward.
And as times went by I was promoted as chef.
Then, I went back to Jakarta, working as a demi chef in a local restaurant.
My longest career as a chef was in a cruise. I worked there for 9 years.
Then, I was a sous chef in Shangri La for 4 years before finally, I become a chef in Santika Premiere since 2015 until today.
Fusion food are happening nowadays. Surprisingly, this traditional x western food has gone mainstream even into street vendors. Do you think such innovation will hurt the authencity of Indonesia traditonal food? Or do you think it will make Indonesian food more popular?
Food is a dynamic entity. It is fast-growing and very competitive.
I don’t think food industry should always be faithful to classic style. Today, consumers are not necessarily looking for tasty food, they are looking for experience. And for that, innovation is the key.
We know that not all foreigners like spicy food.
Also, most of them would feel intimidated by eating food they don’t know. Fusing traditional food with more international-known food is the way to make it more appealing to them.
If you are going to present Indonesian food to International audience, what food would you present to them?
The first thing I would do is learning their background.
But Pepes Salmon (grilled salmon in banana leaf) is a must-food for them!
People across the world know salmon really well, but they barely have eaten them in traditional-grilled.
I definitely would present them the taste of iconic Indonesian food through something they have known really well.
Have you ever given Indonesian food to foreigners? What were their responses?
Certainly I have.
I cooked Indonesian food quite often, especially in my cruise days. Siomay is their favorite, because it tastes similar to dimsum.
In another words, your way to Introduce Indonesian food to foreigners is by presenting them the local food that taste similar to popular ones?
Yes. Other than that, fusing traditional taste in the form of modern presentation (just like pepes salmon) is also effective.
Comparing to food from Malaysia and Thailand, Indonesian food is not that popular to International market. Is there something lacking in Indonesian food that should be a concern?
It is the presentation.
Indonesian food taste amazing, but they don’t look appealing.
On the other hand, presentation does matter in culinary industry. That’s why we (Indonesian chefs) are still in the process to change this perception.
One significant figure in this movement is Chef Ragil. Without any exaggeration, he is really passionate in spreading traditional-food-in-modern-plating movement.
He is also my inspiration in learning Indonesian food.
Well, my speciality was western food only. But as my interest in traditional food grows, I decided to spread my expertise through self-learning.
Do you have your original fusion food creation?
Pepes salmon is actually one of my fusion food creation. It is served in a medium-sized plate with separated sambal, vegetables, and rice.
