DENPASAR, BALIPOST.com – Sambal is part of Indonesian people’s lives. In fact, chili products are part of the creative economy that enriches Indonesian culinary delights. This was conveyed by the Associate Expert Policy Analyst of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indri Wahyu Susanti, Saturday (31/8).
He said Indonesia has a variety of chili sauces from Sabang to Merauke. Meanwhile, in Bali itself there are sambal matah, sambal embe, and others which are part of the richness and diversity of Indonesia.
“As is known, Bali is famous for its suckling pig, so there are certain people who come to a destination just to be able to enjoy suckling pig. “We must admit that culinary enriches tourism,” he added.
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy is also trying to encourage the culinary subsector to introduce its destinations. The methods include cooking classes and cooking competitions.
“Like today, through cooking competitions by influencers, who create main dishes with matching chili sauce, it is hoped that this can become a new culinary variety that can enrich Indonesian culinary delights,” he said.
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy also has a flagship Wonderful Indonesia Co-branding program which aims to further promote tourism through private sector networks, one of which is Finna Food.
Regarding this cooking competition, President Director of PT Sekar Laut Welly Gunawan said that his party is trying to facilitate food influencers to be creative without being limited. “In the past there was no influencer profession, whereas now they can make extraordinary amounts of money and that can help set future trends,” he said.
According to him, it is the duty of the private sector to introduce Indonesian culinary delights to the world. “If people want to travel to an area, what they consider are tourist attractions, culture, souvenirs, and most importantly culinary delights. This is what we want to bring to the international stage so that people know that Indonesia has various types of food. Currently, the only famous Asian foods are Thailand and Japan, while Indonesia is still not that hyped. “It’s our job to make the name of Indonesian cuisine even more hype,” he said. (Citta Maya/balipost)
