LAHORE: This culinary workshop is one of our programmes to promote cultural exchange between Indonesia and Pakistan, says Iwan S Amri, the ambassador of Indonesia to Pakistan.
Talking to Dawn on Friday at the College of Tourism and Hotel Management (COTHM), the ambassador said that in the next stage Indonesia would hold a fashion show in collaboration with Pakistan to promote “Islamic fashion”.
Mr Amri was the chief guest at the Indonesian Culinary Workshop at COTHM. The workshop was organised by the Indonesian embassy in collaboration with the college and Serena Hotel Islamabad. About 50 participants, including students of the college and food lovers, attended the workshop.
Inaugurating the event, Ambassador Amri said that the objective of hosting the workshop was to encourage contacts between the people and institutions of the two countries to augment consequential academic and cultural learning opportunities through cooperation in the spheres of educational career development.
He said that food was more than just a basic necessity as it spoke a lot about the history, traditions, climate, culture and the evolution of the communities, nations and the regions. Indonesian cuisine is diverse, encompassing influences from more than 6,000 inhabited islands of the world’s largest Indonesian archipelago of sprawling 18,000 islands, he added.
He said that the workshop was built at familiarising the participants with the Indonesian culture and cuisine by sharing signature and authentic food recipes. The embassy had invited an Indonesian chef currently associated with the Serena Hotel in Islamabad. The participants were taught three signature Indonesian food recipes: Sate (skewered grilled meat), Gado-Gado (vegetable salad with a peanut sauce) and Nasi Goreng (fried rice).
The participants appreciated the Indonesian embassy for organising the workshop that offered them a unique opportunity to elevate their culinary skills and learn Indonesian dishes from a renowned chef.
The wife of the ambassador, Rita S Amri, presented certificates to the participants at the end.
Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2017
