3 UMN Hospitality Students Win at The Chef Expo 2023 Event

Head of the Hospitality Study Program, Oqke Prawira, and the three UMN hospitality students who won medals at Chef Expo 2023. (Doc. UMN)

JAKARTA – Three Multimedia Nusantara University (UMN) Hospitality Study Program students brought home medals from the Chef Expo 2023 competition with the theme Elevate Indonesian Cuisines. This competition is an annual national culinary competition organized by the Indonesian Chef Association (ICA) at JIE Kemayoran on May 10-13, 2023.

Here is the list of students and the medals they won: 

• Ratulim (class of 2022): Silver Medal in the Junior Chef Indonesian Main Course: Seafood and Bronze Medal in Junior Chef Indonesian Main Course: Pasta. 
• Connie Brahmana (class of 2022): Silver Medal in the Junior Chef Indonesian Main Course: Red Meat. 
• Juaneta Abigail (class of 2021): Bronze Medal in Junior Chef Indonesian Main Course: Red Meat and Bronze Medal in Junior Chef Indonesian Main Course: Pasta. 

The three students are candidates selected directly by Chef Savira Pradiati, a lecturer in UMN’s Hospitality study program, through selection during the Food Production practicum and the final selection with Hands-on Cooking to see their readiness to participate in the competition.

The program supports them through menu development, cooking training, and preparation by practicing every day to get the contested mainstay menu.

Chef Savira explained that this achievement is a source of pride for UMN and UMN’s Hospitality Study Program because Juaneta, Connie, and Ratulim managed to bring many medals and successfully competed with 30 to 40 people per class in their respective categories from culinary and tourism schools in Indonesia.

With the achievements made by the three UMN Hospitality students, it is hoped that it can be one of the future steps for UMN to continue to support student participation in national and international competitions. It is also hoped to be able to develop, preserve, and introduce Indonesian cuisine in the international arena.

“For these students, it is hoped that they can continue to progress to become even better, so that they can be ready and achieve further achievements in international culinary competitions. In addition, it can also be an encouragement and inspiration for other UMN Hospitality study program students,” Chef Savira said.

UMN Hospitality Study Program lecturer Chef Savira Pradiati and the three UMN students who won medals at the Chef Expo. (Doc. UMN)

This competition is also one of pride for Connie, Juaneta, and Ratulim because this is a new experience participating in a competition as a junior chef. The menus are: 

• Juaneta Abigail: Pappardelle Woku Gindara (Pasta), Tenderloin Semur, and Uduk Pomme Puree (Red Meat).
• Ratulim: Pappardelle Aceh Sauce (Pasta) and Gindara Fish Asam Padeh (Seafood)
• Connie Brahmana: Tenderloin Sambal Ijo Padang (Red Meat).

Juaneta shared her story about her preparation for the Chef Expo 2023 competition. She was pretty surprised to be selected for the competition. It took her about 3 weeks to practice and prepare herself to be more confident with her menu.

She chose the Tenderloin Semur and Uduk Pomme Puree menu because she wanted to challenge herself to make mashed potatoes with the Betawi stew seasoning flavor from her mother’s recipe. Then, the Woku Gindara Pappardelle, which she made to give a distinctive flavor of sour tomatoes and fragrant basil that goes well with pasta.

“I was constrained by the stove fire because when I was in college, I was used to having a strong fire. Meanwhile, during the competition, the fire was not as big as on campus. So I was a bit surprised,” Juaneta shared.

Likewise, Ratulim also shared his experience during the competition. He shared some difficulties he encountered regarding the competition rules because this was his first competition. However, after Savira gave directions about the system and competition rules, she became more confident.

“In my opinion, the challenge was finding the right seasoning flavor because it took quite a long time. I chose the Gindara Fish Asam Padeh menu because it was inspired by Padang specialties and Pappardelle Aceh Sauce for the pasta using Aceh spices,” Ratulim said.

On the other hand, Connie had failed many times to get the right seasoning until finally choosing Padang seasoning, which is synonymous with Indonesia, and most Indonesians like Padang cuisine.

“The Padang Sambal Ijo Tenderloin that I made consists of curry rice, green chili sauce, and meat marinated with pop chicken seasoning,” Connie explained.

Connie hopes that in the future, UMN Hospitality can participate in many competitions and bring many victories so more people can recognize the study program.

by Annisa Maulida

English translation by Levina Chrestella Theodora

Kuliah di Jakarta untuk jurusan program studi Informatika| Sistem Informasi | Teknik Komputer | Teknik Elektro | Teknik Fisika | Akuntansi | Manajemen| Komunikasi Strategis | Jurnalistik | Desain Komunikasi Visual | Film dan Animasi | Arsitektur | D3 Perhotelan , di Universitas Multimedia Nusantara. www.umn.ac.id