Jakarta – Students of LSPR Communication and Business Institute class IR22-2SP held a webinar entitled Giyanta Nusantara the Role of Indonesian Gastrodiplomacy on Friday, August 6, 2021. The event, which is also part of LSPR’s International Relations Showcase, invites the audience to discuss how culinary diplomacy in Indonesia can be used as an instrument of soft diplomacy. This webinar is expected to increase the awareness of millennials and gen z in Indonesia about Indonesian culinary culture and encourage the enthusiasm of pop culture actors in Indonesia in bringing and popularizing the gastronomic aspect further to the international arena. The event was opened with remarks from Mrs. Prita Kemal Gani, MBA, MCIPR, APR as the Founder and CEO of IKB LSPR.

Mrs. Siti shared about “Indonesia Spice Up the World”

Mr. Betha, Founder of Adi Gastronom as speaker

Giyanta Nusantara invited four speakers in this webinar. The first speaker was Mrs. Siti Nugraha Mauludiah as Advisor to the Foreign Affairs Minister on Social Culture and Diaspora Affairs. She said that one of the government’s plans for gastrodiplomacy is through the Indonesia Spice Up the World program, namely the development of Indonesian restaurants abroad with a target of 4000 restaurants by 2024. The second speaker is Mr. Betha Ketaren as Founder of Adi Gastronom Indonesia. He said that as a gastronomic community, to introduce culinary delights at home and abroad, Adi Gastronom Indonesia cooperates with many parties at home and abroad, exchanges information, engages with foreign organizations, and participates in culinary festivals abroad.

Chef Agus shared about his experience in introduce Indonesian Food in Netherlands

Mrs. Melda shared experience in managing an Indonesian restaurant in Paris

Mr. Agus Hermawan as Executive Chef of Ron Gastrobar Netherlands was also a speaker. Chef Agus said that the reason he chose Indonesian food to be introduced abroad was because he had always wanted Indonesian food to be on par with the food of other countries and because Indonesian food was rich in diversity, rich in taste, rich in spices, rich in stories, rich in culture and challenging. This was followed by the last speaker, Mrs. Melda Indriyani Kaunang as Owner of Borneo a Paris, an Indonesian restaurant in Paris. She said from a business perspective, the difficulties faced in building restaurants abroad, especially in Paris, were related to ingredients such as spices which were more difficult to obtain and limited human resources. As for Indonesian food itself, in Paris it is quite acceptable and there are very few Indonesian restaurants so this is also an opportunity.

All participants

The webinar went well and was attended by around 200 very enthusiastic audiences. The event continued with a sharing session, a question and answer session, and ended with a group photo.

 

Article by: Michael