Words Hans David Tampubolon Photos Jerry Adiguna

Chef Juna Rorimpandey bears an intimidating on-screen persona.

During his stint as one of the judges of the first two seasons of cooking competition TV reality show Masterchef Indonesia, he made sure the public remembered him as the villainous judge who was cold, blunt and often harsh in criticizing the dishes made by the participants.

Juna could be so harsh that some viewers thought that his criticism became bullying.

The reality show business, however, can be a tricky area. For the sake of entertainment and ratings, the shows, just like in any other form of spectacle, often do not reflect what is actually real.

The real-world Juna is not exactly the same man viewed on the reality show.

During the recent opening of Juna’s first restaurant, Correlate, in the posh Mega Kuningan area in South Jakarta, he showed that he could be gentle and warm while maintaining discipline among his cooks in the kitchen.

No yelling and no tantrums here: Juna displayed a great deal of respect toward his cooks, regardless of their seniority and roles.

“Actually, I am a very disciplined person and I believe the persona I displayed on the reality show depicted my personality as a professional chef. However, I do not think that I was being a bully. I have always been a very strongly firm leader in the kitchen but I am not a hot-tempered guy,” Juna said.

In terms of management policy, Juna also shows that he has a lot of empathy toward the well-being of his kitchen staff and workers by giving them a full day off on Sundays, something that is a rarity in the culinary world where restaurants usually open seven days a week.

From a business perspective, his decision to close the doors of his restaurant on Sundays might seem questionable. After all, it is important for a new restaurant to make sure it reaches its return on investment as quickly as possible. However, Juna, being a seasoned chef, sees things differently.

“I have spent almost 20 years working in the kitchen as a professional chef and I know what it is like to work seven days a week for 80 hours. I do not want them [his staff] to experience what I went through. I want them to have an opportunity to enjoy their social lives,” Juna said.

“I need my staff and cooks to be completely fresh and ready to work. Having a full day off on Sundays can help us all to achieve this as it means that we can completely rest and prepare ourselves for a new week ahead.”

HEART AND SOUL

Correlate is the first restaurant that Juna fully owns by himself. The menu changes daily, serving the best seasonal ingredients and the chef’s broad inspirations. It is familiar yet unusual, inspired by French and Japanese culinary styles that may appeal to a diverse range of palates.

“The dishes in the restaurant represent the technique complexity of French culinary on one side and the simplicity of Japanese culinary on the other,” Juna said.

Comfortably furnished and decorated in highlights of the spring and autumn seasons, it evinces the eclectic and incredible tale of a passionate culinary journey.

Juna defines his restaurant as a “premium casual dining” establishment; it means that while patrons do not need to make a reservation to book a table or to comply with certain dress codes like in fine dining restaurants, they will still be able to enjoy top class services, from prime ingredients to the best wines and liquor available.

The restaurant, Juna said, is the realization of his dream from the last 10 years. The restaurant means so much to him that he literally puts his heart and soul into every aspect of it. Other than setting up the menu and dish presentation, Juna also designed the interiors, layout and furniture by himself.

“Having my own restaurant is very important for me because I am a chef and this is my life. True chefs always aspire to run their own professional kitchen,” he said.

Running a professional kitchen as a career path and a passion was something that 41-year-old Juna did not have in mind at the beginning of his young adult life.

His first passion was in an entirely different world. It was aviation.

Juna went to a pilot school in Texas, US, back in 1997 but he could not obtain a commercial flight license after the school went bankrupt. He tried to get one in another school in Houston but back home in Indonesia, the economic crisis occurred and his parents could no longer afford his education abroad.

To support himself, Juna took on different odd jobs as an illegal immigrant. Eventually, he ended up as a waiter in a sushi restaurant and it was here that he started to learn about the art of Japanese cuisine from a sushi master who took notice of his potential.

Juna studied hard under the sushi master and managed to impress the owner that he eventually received a sponsorship to become a US permanent resident and did not have to worry about being arrested by the authorities for his illegal status.

After mastering the art of Japanese cuisine and taking the helm as the sushi master, Juna sought a new challenge and became interested in the complicated technique and preparation of French dishes.

In 2004, he joined a three-Michelin star restaurant called The French Laundry and began his journey in mastering the French culinary art. In this restaurant located in Yountville, California, Juna was molded to become a true professional chef through the tight discipline routine from head chef Thomas Keller.

When Juna returned to Indonesia to take on the role of executive chef at the Jack Rabbit restaurant and became a cooking competition judge, he brought with him the experience and discipline learned from Keller.

Juna, who initially was forced to learn to cook in order to survive in a foreign land, now considers that preparing and serving high quality cuisine for other people to enjoy is a life-long dedication.

“The satisfaction that I get when I am able to make the perfect dish and see how people love to eat and enjoy it is beyond words,” he said.

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