Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine May 2018 | Page 77

Explore | Flavours
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1 Traditional tempeh
vendor at an Indonesian
wet market.
2 The addictive tempeh
chips, to cater for
Indonesians’ love of
crunchy snacks.
3 Tempeh dishes showcased
in a warung Tegal
– Javanese food kiosks.
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Tempeh’s journey symbolises what a culture should
always do, and not only in a culinary aspect: preserve
its roots while continuously evolving...
The tempeh entrepreneur par excellence,
though, is Rustono, who started to build
Rusto’s Tempeh Factory literally with his own
hands, piece by piece, in the winter of 1999 in
Shiga, Japan. The admirable perseverance and
resilience of the Indonesian go-getter are
qualities to look up to. The challenges and
refusals he faced at the early stages of his
business only spurred him on to do more.
Now, the incredible 30,000 pieces of tempeh
he produces monthly are distributed not only
in Japan but also in Korea, Canada, France,
Austria, Portugal and Mexico – where he has
opened a second factory to meet growing
demand. Rustono is generously giving back
to his native community by importing
machinery from Indonesia and sharing his
insights to inspire other tempeh artisans to
aim higher, and by promoting Indonesian
food heritage to the world, one flavoursome
morsel after another.
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What started as peasant food has truly
now made its way to the global stage. In
Indonesia, chefs like the award-winning
Ragil Imam Wibowo of Nusa Indonesian
Gastronomy in Jakarta, along with Ray
Adriansyah and Eelke Plasmeijer of one of
Asia’s best restaurants, Locavore in Ubud,
Bali, regularly include tempeh on their
fine-dining menus. They all share a common
mission: to safeguard Indonesia’s rich
culinary heritage and showcase the diverse,
unique, indigenous produce the archipelago
has to offer, through impeccably presented
and innovative dishes.
Tempeh’s journey symbolises what
a culture should always do, and not only
in a culinary aspect: preserve its roots
while continuously evolving towards its
broader and greater future, without
ever forgetting its origins.
4 Sayur lodeh – Javanese tempeh and vegetables
in light coconut milk soup.
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