Indonesian culinary specialists, William Wongso and Bondan Winarno along with food enthusiasts energize ACMI (Aku Cinta Makanan Indonesia/I Love Indonesian Food) a movement to preserve traditional foods and also learn about the stories behind the making of such foods. Even more important, according to William Wongso is to boost the number of chefs and cooks who master foods from different regions of Indonesia.

The Government of Indonesia has for several years bestowed Adhikarya Pangan Nusantara, an Award as a token of appreciation for people (farmers/farmer groups, food businesses, the public and government officials) who are active and creative in promoting food security.

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy recently launched 30 traditional culinary icons of Indonesia consisting of foods and beverages, from appetizers and main courses to desserts and snacks. The selection of 30 traditional culinary icons was the first step to focus on and to market Indonesian cuisines.

The Omar Niode Foundation conducted a mini survey to gain an overview of public awareness on the array of Indonesian traditional foods and beverages.

As a nonprofit organization that works to raise awareness on the quality of education and human resources in the field of agriculture, food, and culinary arts we did this survey hoping that it will instigate bigger polls with respondents throughout Indonesia.

Our objectives for the mini survey are as follows: 1. To obtain a preliminary information on people’s interest in traditional foods, beverages and snacks of Indonesia 2. To inspire people to present Indonesian cuisines on many occasions 3. To provide input to national polls on traditional foods awareness.

Data collection for the mini survey took place from December 22, 2012 until February 10, 2013. Various communities were invited to fill out a survey questionnaire with respondents limited to 100 people. Data is collected through face-to-face interview and online surveys.

Questions asked include age, gender, foods, beverages and traditional snacks favored by respondents, as well as the origin of the food. Through open-ended questions respondents were also asked to provide advice on how to popularize Indonesian products and services.

From all of the data collected, the analyst made categories that grouped the answers then applied frequency analysis to draw major conclusions.

Most of our respondents live in Jakarta and its surrounding cities (Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi).

Of the 100 respondents, 40% met us face-to-face while 60% filled out online questionnaire in SurveyMonkey.

More than 50% of our respondents are aged 20-30 years. This is possibly because active users of online media are the younger generation.

The questions posed to the respondents made them realized that it is necessary to do a mixture of activities to increase the popularity of Indonesian foods domestically and internationally.

Respondents like Indonesian foods, beverages and traditional snacks for the tastes. The survey shows that 19.19% of our respondents like Indonesian food because it suits the taste, while 17.17%, said the food is tasty. Typical flavor is mentioned by 10.10% of our respondents and 9.9% said they love Indonesian food because of its many spices. It can be concluded by the mini survey that all reasons focused on taste.

Our respondents identified 47 types of foods with gado-gado (mixed salad with peanut sauce), gudeg (jackfruits in coconut sauce) and mpek-mpek (fish cakes with vinegar) as their preferred choices.

Respondents are familiar with 21 varieties of beverages and preferred cendol (tapioca bubbles drink), wedang jahe (ginger hot drink) and bajigur (coconut milk and palm sugar drink).

There were 47 selections of snacks mentioned by our respondents with martabak, combro and cucur as the most well known snacks among respondents.

Because the survey was conducted in Greater Jakarta, the areas most mentioned by respondents as the origin of foods, beverages and snacks are those located on the on the island of Java.

Most respondents buy traditional foods in traditional markets and souvenir centers.

The majority of our respondents suggested heightening promotion (31.31%) as a way to popularize Indonesian food. Event/Bazaar/Festival (21.21%) can also be an alternative in introducing Indonesian food to a wider audience in Indonesia and abroad. SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) are the majority of actors engaged in local food business. Minimum attention to products packaging was highlighted by our respondents (10.10%) who believe that better packaging will make foods more attractive.

This mini survey is a snapshot of public awareness on local food, beverages and snacks. It does not necessarily reflect national situation. Based on this result, we recommend a more comprehensive survey covering all over Indonesia with questions and answers that have been specified (multiple choices) to get a more structured analysis.

Results from bigger polls will be useful as a basis to strengthen the role of Indonesian culinary in a national and international scales.

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Imges: Andril Kondiuk, Yonibunga/Shutterstock, Kheng Guan Toh/RF123, Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy, Omar Niode Foundation