Indonesia, represented by the Tourism Ministry's Culinary and Shopping Tourism Acceleration Team head, Vita Datau Messakh, was among the participants at the event, where she discussed the ministry’s target to increase the number of foreign tourists to the archipelago from 9.3 million in 2014 to 20 million in 2019.

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Regarding the country's food scene, Vita shared that the many varieties of Indonesian cuisine can be attributed to the 1,340 ethnic groups in Indonesia and its natural resources that have resulted in more than 5,000 traditional recipes.

Moreover, after several discussions with culinary experts, Vita said that Indonesian gastronomy basically offered a triangle concept that focuses on three elements: food, culture and history.

“Between food and history, there are spices that connect the two. History and culture are connected by storytelling. And ritual or ceremony connects culture with food,” she explained.

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Vita, who is also the head of Indonesian Gastronomy Academy (AGI), gave an example of rendang (beef simmered in coconut and spices). This famous dish ticks all the gastronomy criteria from its cooking process, called marandang, to the philosophy behind every ingredient, such as meat that reflects prosperity, spices for enhancement, coconut milk as integrator, and red chili that reflects good lessons.

At the end of her presentation, Vita made an announcement that UNWTO had accepted Ubud, Bali, as a prototype for the development of gastronomy tourism. At the upcoming forum, the ministry is said to report on the steps that they are going to take to develop gastronomy tourism in Ubud. (kes)

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