Chef details dignitaries' dietary habits
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Veteran Indonesian chef William Wongso, second from right, three assistant chefs and officials from the Indonesian Embassy pose for a photo during the Indonesian Food Festival at the Lotte Hotel, Monday. They are, from left, Adriansyah Rasul, counselor of the Indonesian Embassy; three assistant chefs Ade Suherman, Jeffrey Sie, and Putri Rizky Mumpuni; Wongso; and Indonesian diplomat Ketrin Triwidiastuty. / Korea Times
By Kang Hyun-kyung
There are three things that former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan would never eat. They were avocados, cucumbers and tomatoes.
On Monday, veteran Indonesian chef William Wongso disclosed that he belatedly learned about the “don’ts list” for the then U.N. chief while preparing a state dinner during the Africa-Asia conference held in Indonesia in April 2005.
His culinary team used avocado as one of the ingredients in the dessert.
“I realized that we made mistakes. After the dinner, I checked his dish after it was returned to the kitchen and found that there was no leftover,” Wongso said during a working dinner with reporters at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul.
He said he heaved a sigh of relief.
The Embassy of Indonesia in Seoul organized the working dinner on the occasion of the Indonesian Food Festival last week.
Through his 35 years of extensive experience in the culinary industry in Indonesia and overseas, Wongso said he realized that there was a perception gap regarding avocado between Indonesians and Westerners.
“Westerners think that avocado is a vegetable suitable for salad. But Indonesians consider it a fruit,” he said.
Adriansyah Rasul, counselor of the Indonesian Embassy, called Wongso “a legendary figure” in Indonesian culinary history.
“He knows almost everything about food. His extensive experiences and deep knowledge about Indonesian and global food industry earned him this title,” the diplomat said.
During the food festival, Wongso and three assistant chefs prepared traditional, iconic Indonesian foods for the Korean public at the hotel to help Koreans get the taste of Indonesian culinary.
The veteran chef came to know about international dignitaries’ dietary habits as he has prepared state dinner for multilateral summits or breakfasts for some high-profile figures visiting Indonesia.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was one of the foreign dignitaries he prepared dinner during her visit to Indonesia.
According to Wongso, the late British Princess Diana had never eaten chocolate before the British royal family member visited Jakarta in 1989.
Wongso said there was a tricky head of state when he prepared state dinner during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali in 2013. The Indonesian chef asked the reporter not to publish the name of the foreign leader.
The foreign head of state didn’t eat any kinds of poultry or seafood.
Wongso said short notice made it difficult for his team to prepare a tailor-made state dinner for the leader. “We got a food regulation list from the country one day before the state dinner,” the chef said. Wongso declined to comment in great detail how the foreign leader responded to the food served.
The Indonesian chef said most leaders enjoyed the foods his team served. “We prepared modern Indonesian cuisine featuring genuine Indonesian flavor and taste. When it comes to state dinners, I think simple foods are good. Don’t try to make complicated ones.”
For him, Wongso said, the APEC summit was the first time that he saw in person so many foreign heads of states at a time.
Indonesian food
The veteran chef said there is no such thing as a national food in Indonesia because foods are very different from region to region.
Locals use different ingredients they grow in their regions and different ways of cooking and this makes Indonesian food diverse.
“Therefore, it’s hard to characterize what Indonesian food is like, because food and the way people make food are very different. But in general, Indonesian foods are spicy, sweet, simple and Indonesians use a lot of local ingredients,” he said.
Wongso said the Indonesian government began to take an interest in promoting Indonesian foods overseas in recent years just as Korea did during the former Lee Myung-bak government (2008-2013).
He said he found a distinct difference between Koreans and Indonesians regarding their attitude toward food. “Koreans respect food. But Indonesians take it for granted,” he said.