Kitchenesia.com - Chef Ragil and food had a long history.
The forty-seven-year-old chef had always aspired to become a chef since five.
His passion for food grew stronger as he often helped his mother on kitchen to chop veggies or mixing spices.
“At the age of five year old, that’s when I was kind of struck to my head that’s something I wanted to do,” he said.
“I wanted to be chef only, not a doctor, not a fireman.”
And from since, Chef Ragil never looked back.
Chef Ragil has accomplished the (nearly) impossible: he was a chef at prestigious hotel such as Millenium Hotel and Grand Hyatt; his talent has named him a numerous prominent awards such as gold medal of Salon Culinaire in Jakarta, five-time winner for Western food cooking at Allez Cuisine, and Iron Chef Indonesia.
He established two famed restaurants: the hip Warung Pasta and the extravagant Nusa Indonesian Gastronomy.
Also, his talent and friendly demeanor have made him a star chef on two cooking shows: Makan Besar on Trans 7 and Mukbang on ANTV.
It is no exaggeration to say that Chef Ragil is one of the most influental culinary figures in Indonesia.
With many awards under his belt, the paunchy chef dedicates his time in preserving Indonesian culinary heritage, specifically in using local ingredients and authentic recipes.
His purpose goes beyond the self.
He believes that food lovers enjoy not only the complex taste of Indonesian gastronomy, but to also appreciate the roots of Indonesian culture.
Kitchenesia.com sat down with the chef to talk about the passion.
You have gone to many remote areas around Indonesia recently to "preserve Indonesian spices". Is there a problem with Indonesian spices?
There is a tendency among farmer's offsprings not to continue their parents' job in producing crops.
They prefer to work in stable jobs that pay them fast, like working in an office or in a factory.
Then the land is abandoned and eventually sold by the owner.
Indonesia is blessed with vast land, but ironically we are on the edge of land crisis.
If this continues to happen, then Indonesia cannot export spices anymore. Or worse, we would export spices that used to be ours.
I desire to change this mindset.
I aim to build awareness between youth there, and highligh the importance of spice preservation and their roles in food sustainability.
Alhamdulillah (praise God), their responses are good.
You said that many lands ares sold because no one wants to farm. Then what are these lands become after being sold?
Most of them became housing complex, from my observation. While housing is primary need, food are necessary too, right? (laugh)
You are known to be a passionate figure in promoting Indonesian cuisine to the world. We know that Indonesian cuisine has exotic tastes that foreign people might not like it. How do yo handle this?
It's simple.
The first thing I need to know is my guests background, including their age and nationality.
If they're from neighbor country such as Thailand or Singapore, it would be fine to maintain the original flavor.
I keep flavor and smell in moderation if the guests are western people.
You are the mastermind of serving Indonesian cuisine in modern platting. Then many young chefs follow your path. Do you think that serving Indonesian food in moderate taste and modern platting make them unauthentic?
I don't think there is an "authentic Indonesian cuisine" because many foreign cultures influence them.
There must be one foreign influence in one Indonesian food, at least.
It can be from: India, Arab, China, Portugal, Spain.
For my restaurants, I always maintain the original cooking method.
If a food requires grilling using bamboo, then I use bamboo.
That's why I have 3 kitchens in my restaurants: traditional, normal, and modern kicthens.
If someone wants to taste the original flavor, I suggest them to go to the region where the food comes from.
If you are going to present an Indonesian food to people who don't know Indonesia, let's say people from northern Europe, what food will you serve them?
I would serve them satay with peanut sauce.
Its flavor is not complicated: savory and sweet.
Maybe I would present fried rice as well because it is really popular worldwide (laugh).
