Kitchenesia.com - Indonesia holds richness of cuisine for it consists of diverse people and gets influenced by other cultures around the world.
But most of the foods succeed to survive and assimilate are hearty and fulfilling foods. They also contain unique blend of flavors, with applicable cooking techniques that are similar to inherent characters in Indonesian dishes.
In 2016, a Swiss-born family expanded their culinary business to Jakarta. It is SaladStop!, a fast-casual food chain that focuses on salad. But the problem is, despite its rising popularity in big cities, many still consider salad unsuited to eat as daily foods, contrary to what happen in the west.
One of SaladStop!’s key persons said that she initially hesitated whether her business would run smoothly in Indonesia.
“No matter where they live or backgrounds, Indonesians have a strong rice-based diet in their daily lives,” said Kathrine Desbaillets-Braha, the co-owner of SaladStop! on her exclusive interview with Kitchenesia.
Considering SaladStop! just opened its fourteenth store in its fourth year of operation in Indonesia, the doubt is proven the otherwise.
As a family business, the company’s core positions hold by whole family members. Daniel Desbaillets (67) founded SaladStop! in 2009; he holds the chairman position. Daniel has two children named Adrien (36) and Kathrine (34) who both are co-founders and directors of SaladStop!. Katherine’s husband, Frantz Braha, joined later as the director.
In conjunction with SaladStop!’s fourteenth store grand opening, Kitchenesia met Kathrine Desbaillets-Braha, the co-owner of SaladStop!. The Swiss-born entrepreneur shares about SaladStop!’s commitment to spread ‘responsible eating’ and her experience as a female entrepreneur.
How did you create SaladStop!’s menu? Where did the inspiration come from?
My family had been exposed to many cultures because we had a strong background in hotel field. My father spent his whole life working in a hotel business for 40 years. My brother and I studied hotel management as well. Thus, we learn about hospitality management as well as food there. Our jobs also require us to travel a lot.
Because of my father’s job, our family moved to another country every two years. We have lived in Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, and the list goes on. We always try local dishes whenever we went abroad. We take those flavors and put them into our salad.
