Indonesia is rich with diverse delicacies from hundreds of cuisines. It is a vast culinary wealth that we could liken to the Silk Road, and which must be preserved as a world cultural heritage.

We should be grateful to the culinary communities that have been cropping up on social media for their efforts in promoting local foods. Many of these communities are on Facebook, and started out as hobby groups.

One of the most notable groups is Jalansutra, which actually translates to “silk road”, but here the word “sutra” derives from Sanskrit and means knowledge or skill. The name Jalansutra thus conveys the meaning of promoting food through travel writing.

“Jalansutra is more than food and travel. We have a mission to preserve Indonesian food,” Lidia Tanod, the moderator of the Jalansutra Facebook group, told The Jakarta Post.

Her statement is grounded on the community’s published bibliography of five culinary titles since 2013, each of which documents 100 Indonesian dishes.

Another popular community is the Natural Cooking Club (NCC), which groups together people who share a passion for cooking. Still another is Jangkrik Kuliner, which has grown rapidly from 14 members at its establishment in 2017 to about 16,000 today.

Meanwhile, food bloggers have joined forces in the Indonesian Food Blogger (IFB) community, and Negeri Rempah (spice nation) promotes the archipelago’s spices that are already famous around the world.

Lovers of pete (bitter bean) or jengkol (stinky bean) – mildly toxic beans with distinctive flavors – will find their fellows in the Republik Pete&Jenkol Facebook group, founded by food stylist Puji Purnama.

“I met a [film] director from Thailand. He was born and raised in America. He likes pete very much. He told me, ‘Puji you must do something. Pete must become a promotional tool for Indonesian tourism.’ That’s how I came to founding [Republik Pete/Jenkol],” said Puji, who has been preparing food for photography and films for 20 years.

Other Facebook groups he has formed include maniakdurian, dapurngebul, PasarKuliner (culinary market), Organic Kitchen Garden and Shoot&Food, the latter for food stylists.

“[People] are free to talk about their hobbies or passions in these groups, but not about politics or religion,” Puji said.

Bondan’s legacy

Jalansutra was formed in 2003 and named after the highly popular column in Suara Pembaruan maintained by culinary expert and journalist Bondan “Maknyus” Winarno.

The late, great Bondan also hosted the notable Wisata Kuliner (culinary travels) program on Trans TV and was known for his iconic expression, “Pokoke maknyuss!” (the point is, it’s delicious!).

But few know that he was also behind the founding of the Jalansutra culinary community. Aware of the Jalansutra column’s extensive mailing list, Kopi Tiam Oey CEO Wasis Gunarto came up with the idea of forming a culinary community, to which Bondan agreed.

It could be said that Bondan has accomplished his mission to preserve Indonesian food as a national heritage — and continues to do so, even after his death in 2017.

“In 2003, it was difficult to find decent Indonesian food,” said Jalansutra member Lidia, who was the community’s 21st member that year. “Indonesian culinary tourism is now a trend and lifestyle. Indonesian food has gained more respect.”

Lidia said the community was confident about local cuisines despite the widespread penetration of foreign foods.

“We may like foreign dishes, but how often do we eat sushi or pizza? Maybe only once a week, and we will always fall back to the food we’ve been familiar with since childhood,” she said.

Initially driven by a passion for food she had developed since she was small, her involvement with Jalansutra has gained her renown in the culinary industry as the food curator of Urban Kitchen and co-founder of Pasar Rame.

Jalansutra co-moderator Harry Nazarudin pointed out that Indonesian dishes were more respected because of improved public perception as to its cultural value.

“People do not see it cheap food, but as a cultural heritage. We talk about chicken on the mailing list, not just how to cook it but the traditions behind it,” said Harry.

Both Lidia and Harry have been involved in publishing the community’s 100 Maknyuss Jakarta (2014), 100 Maknyuss Bali (2015), 100 Maknyuss Joglo Semar (2016) and 100 Maknyuss Jalur Mudik (2018). These titles followed the group’s inaugural publication in 2013, 100 Maknyuss, which Bondan compiled.

Jalansutra looks at other culinary communities as their partners rather than competitors. It has cooperated with the NCC and with Aku Cinta Masakan Indonesia (ACMI) in cooking and reviving traditional recipes.

The group’s most recent culinary tour took its members to culinary destinations in Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Semarang — more commonly called Joglo Semar as in the 2016 title — as well as Lasem and Pati.

In pursuing its core activities, Jalansutra has held three Writing Travel Food (WTF) events in the same number of years, with the fourth WTF planned for this year.

The two-day event follows a tried-and-tested format, with culinary experts and businesspeople sharing their experiences on opening day. The second and final day is reserved for a food writing workshop that encourages food bloggers to hone their skills in promoting Indonesian food.

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