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Professional chefs gather to empower culinary entrepreneurship
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A member of Chef Republic, a community of chefs in Jakarta, cooks fried beef noodles at a booth at Thamrin 10 on Jan. 24. (JP/Yunindita Prasidya)
F
or the approximately 200 members of Chef Republic, the professional chef community is much more than just a place to share recipes or stories about challenges they face in the kitchen; it is a place to find jobs, give back to society and even to get support for their retirement plans.
“We created Chef Republic in 2009. At first it was a place for us to hang out together and share new recipes, but along the way, we felt like we had to do something more to help members and give back to society,” Rizal Djarot from Chef Republic told The Jakarta Post recently.
Rizal said the community helped its members, especially those who wanted to retire, launch their own culinary businesses.
“Our main focus in 2020 is encouraging our members to be entrepreneurs. We want to help chefs who want to retire or members who no longer want to work in the kitchen because it is so physically demanding establish their own businesses,” he said.
The community helps members by sharing tips to open businesses, giving advice on menus and even providing supplies and equipment for new businesses.
The group recently cooperated with the Jakarta administration and city-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya to open food stalls in the newly launched Thamrin 10 Food and Creative Park in Menteng district, Central Jakarta, in celebration of the Lunar New Year.
In the event, Rizal said, about 20 unemployed chefs from Chef Republic were given a chance to operate their own food stalls serving various Chinese delicacies such as fried beef noodles, spicy crispy chicken, fu yung hai (omelet) and kung pao chicken.
