“The food is weird: spicy but tasty,” said an American foodie when experiencing nasi rendang – a plate of rice served with spicy beef rendang originally from Minangkabau of West Sumatra – for the first time.

Despite the fact that rendang was dubbed one of the world’s most delicious foods by a CNN survey in 2018, the majority of Westerners have never tasted nasi rendang or any other types of Indonesian dishes.

The wide gap between Eastern and Western culinary traditions has made it difficult for people in the West to try the dishes of different cultures.

“It is important to provide comprehensive information on each food introduced to my guests. Telling the cultural background, ingredients and flavors of any traditional dish may arouse the interests of foreigners to try the food. Storytelling has proven effective to introduce Indonesian cuisine to first-time eaters,” said food writer and blogger Ade Putri Paramadita.

The proponent of Aku Cinta Makanan Indonesia, a movement involving passionate chefs, food writers and food lovers who have been working to promote and to preserve the marvel of Indonesia's traditional culinary heritage, shared her stories during a session at the recent Ubud Food Festival in Bali.

Ade frequently takes her guests on adventurous culinary journeys – to local and vibrant markets, warung (food stalls) and to fine dining establishments – across the archipelago.

She admitted most foreigners knew very few Indonesian dishes. Their knowledge was limited to nasi goreng (fried rice), gado-gado (mixed steamed vegetables served with spicy and sweet peanut sauce) and, thanks to former United States president Barack Obama who popularized his favorite Indonesian dish, mie bakso  (noddle soup with meatballs).