– Tell us a little about your personality and how did you get this Roeparasa business idea in the first place –
For me personally, the experience of processing Indonesian ingredients also has a story of its own.
Stories about cooking Nusantara dishes always remind me of my mother and grandmother. We often spend our mornings on weekends in the kitchen, processing cooking ingredients while telling stories about our life experiences, so what happened was that my grandmother and mother passed on their knowledge of cooking to me and my brothers while sharing their stories in the past
We laughed together, laughed at the silliness of the past, while strengthening the bonding between us. My grandmother who often moved cities in her youth, so she has many stories that tell the past side of life in Nusantara through her point of view. With her modesty, she told me about the days of the Nusantara that I will never experience. She described how the cities in the past, the transportation that she often used at that time, the words in Indonesian which were often mixed with regional and foreign languages, the original manners passed down from family, songs, and traditional clothes which at that time she was still often in her youth with her friends.
The Nusantara is so vast, so diverse, so many unique sides that have not been revealed.
For me, Nusantara always keeps unique stories in its diversity and one day, I will feel and experience it myself so that I someday I can share stories with people around me, even to my next generation.
I believe that diversity is not something that can divide a nation, but something whose existence needs to be maintained, because there are many things and noble values in every aspect of life, but waiting to be implanted in the minds of all of us to make us human beings who are virtuous and noble character.
Bangga Pesona Keberagaman Budaya Indonesia
– Motivation that you chose to build this business –
Motivation about diversity within the Nusantara has always been something interesting to share, because diversity itself is a very personal story of experience, which is felt by oneself, but must be experienced with backgrounds and habits that are completely different from oneself.
In telling the diversity in the Nusantara related to its culture, of course there is a lot of beauty in that diversity. For example, in terms of art, language, customs, to human character. In the experience of diversity, there is always a feeling of gratitude for having been placed by the Almighty in this Nusantara and for meeting the various beauties of each community’s life.
In experiencing the cultural diversity of the Nusantara, I think that we don’t have to go far to visit every place in the Nusantara, because nowadays, the boundaries for interaction seem to have thinned out. something that is unique from various parts of the Nusantara can now be recognized in various ways instantly, for example the daily food we eat.
There are many stories from the plate of dishes we serve every day, very long stories about its origins, stories of failures creating delicious dishes, stories about the long journey of how the food came to us, to the story of the cook him/herself in learning how to process and cook the food.
Interesting things always come from something simple, something essentials but we don’t realize it, will make us grateful. Nusantara cuisine for me is something special, because I have known it since I was a child. These dishes set the standard for my taste buds, allowing my taste buds to sort out what I can eat and what I can’t, what is right and what isn’t. Getting used to Indonesian cuisine makes me miss if I don’t get the taste of food that seems to have formed in my subconscious for a few days, especially when I go far away, I will not be able to imagine what it will taste like.
The taste of Nusantara cuisine is always unique from each region. On the island of Java, for example, East Javanese cuisine is synonymous with spicy and slightly savory flavors, while in Central Java and Yogyakarta it is synonymous with a slightly sweet taste, while Padang cuisine is always rich in spices and seasonings that seem strong. The flavors of these diverse but unified cuisines feel right on my taste buds, enriching my experience of cuisines from various regions. In addition, these dishes also remind how rich and fertile this Nusantara is, because there are various types of plants and food ingredients to be processed, so many combinations can be created to create dishes with extraordinary flavors and how great the creativity of the resources is. the human being so that they are able to find the best flavors of the many combinations.
Menyibak Rekam Sejarah Rempah-Rempah Indonesia
-Why is it called Roeparasa? Is there a special reason? –
One dish can bring back the sweetness of life. From the appearance to the feeling in the heart, everything is combined through a different lens about “Roepa & Rasa” using real spices to describe the image of the imagination. The taste that lingers on the tongue, overwhelms the newcomer’s longing for his village and family. Like a button, in an instant able to connect the hometown, calm the floating heart, return to the mother’s arms.
We combine spices and aromatics such as garlic, shallots, galangal and lemongrass with oil, tamarind and the like to make this condiment or sambal…. which is processed into food to be used as an instant seasoning or used to give it additional flavour.
The essence of this concoction is that each taste can be used for various menus. It is the home-grown, heritage products and special recipes using pure herbs that give soul to most of our family’s dishes,
We think of this spice as the catalyst that brings it all together to create what can best be described as an oral orgasm…. Oops…
The next preparation that has formed in our family so far is our family’s cooking life, they are my starting point and I can’t imagine life without them
“This was the Best eaten of the that our family had ever made”
– Since when did this business start and when did Roeparasa products start to be marketed commercially? –
1973 is the year I was born, where these spices have been around for generations, then 2017 just started their commercial business.
This is the best part of my life
Being able to cook, for me is a big change The way I see life, where I live, and myself Roeparasa seems to bring us always feels like home.
Feeding is a bridge between my culture, me and others
Strangers sit and eat my food In the end all friends Feeding is a bridge to reach them…
Sometimes it’s hard to explain…
The special quality of a home made food
Great food covered in the freshness of the spices
We are like professional chefs, we do the same thing from time to time…
People are watching us, and we are controlling.
So I close my eyes and imagine myself flying…
I’m very lucky The dish at my table doesn’t depend solely on my income,
but my staff, they support the family at home,
So when I started making roeparasa, I didn’t let them leave their position.
At first it was difficult, they could only work part time and so did I with my abilities.
That moment Over time, one by one, we joined full time, that was the defining moment
When roeparasa was built, I chose everything.
From the color of the tiles to the colorful packaging, even the plants where we work.
At that time I wanted an open kitchen, because I wanted people to see… the hands cooking the dishes, celebrating the soul of my kitchen.
Roeparasa is an oasis for us
I watched us grow
Confident…and proud..
This is what happens to us when we support each other
If she is still around, My grandmother will always stand up for me, she taught me to cook I want to do what makes her possible feel proud
Because I know, it’s hard when he takes care of me like a mother…
Now, he must be very proud of me…
But I still feel like I want to do more…
