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Despite losing sight, Murdijati Gardjito keeps documenting Indonesian cuisine
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Lifelong passion: Murdijati Gardjito has written more than 60 books on Indonesian cuisine and local produce, some of which were penned after she lost her eyesight in 2015. (Murdijati Gardjito/-)
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osing her eyesight in 2015 did not stop culinary expert Murdijati Gardjito, 77, from living her true passion: researching and writing books on Indonesian food.
This year alone she plans to publish seven books: four are on cuisine, two on gastronomy, the other one is on traditional Javanese food and rituals. The last one is to be published in Indonesian and in English.
Murdijati admitted to having no cooking skill, but her solid expertise in food technology led her to write more than 60 books about Indonesian culinary culture and empowerment of local produce.
It is therefore not surprising that the Ubud Food Festival (UFF) gave her the Lifetime Achievement Award during the festival’s gala opening on Thursday night in Bali’s upland town of Ubud.
“This is an honor,” said Murdijati while conveying her hope that the award would attract the attention of international Indonesian culinary aficionados to her independent, self-financed research.
She is slated also to share her lifelong mission to promote Indonesian cuisine at the festival’s discussion session, titled Empowering Indonesian Produce, on Sunday.
Her interest in Indonesian cuisine started when she was studying food technology at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta.
