The Jakarta Post News - In a corner of Senayan City shopping center in South Jakarta on Saturday morning, 18 people were lined up in front of 18 tables filled with spices and kitchen utensils. They wore white aprons and chef hats.

They were participants in the Garuda Cooking Competition, which was organized by flag carrier Garuda Airlines to celebrate its 59th anniversary on Jan. 26.

Garuda chief executive officer Emirsyah Satar said the event was part of efforts to involve customers in celebrating the airline's anniversary.

Emir also took part in the competition, which consisted of two classes: recreational or amateur, for Garuda frequent flyers, and professional for hotel and restaurant chefs.

Recreational class participants had to cook a Sumatran dish, sup ikan bawal pindang serani (silver pomfret soup), while the professional class cooked a dish originating from Cirebon, bubur gurih glewo buntut ijo (porridge cooked with ox tail).

Both recipes were concocted by culinary expert William Wongso, who was also a judge in the competition. He said he chose the recipes to promote Indonesian food.

One of the amateur participants was the actor and presenter Ferry Salim, who happens to be a Garuda frequent flyer.

He skillfully chopped onions and garlic, fried the spices in a pan, and marinated the silver pomfret with squeezed lemon juice.

"I'm very excited about this competition because I like cooking. It's fun," said Ferry.

He said he did not know much about the soup because he normally cooked Italian and Chinese food at home.

"I asked my wife about the soup but she did not know either. Then I searched for a cook book to learn more about the recipe. I thought it would be difficult to make, but actually it is pretty easy," Ferry said.

He seemed to be the most prepared of the amateur participants. Instead of using the equipment provided by the committee, he brought his own utensils, including a bowl, rattan tray, spoons and glass. He even made his own sambal for the soup.

"I wanted to match the utensils with the soup. I also made ice lemon tea to drink because I think it really fits," he said.

Ferry's wife, Merry, was surprised by her husband's effort.

"I didn't know that he prepared all that stuff. And he really did a good job with the soup, even though it was his first time making that kind of soup," said Merry.

All that effort bore fruit: He won first prize in the recreational class.

Jury head Bondan Winarno, a television presenter on the cooking show Wisata Kuliner, said the main factor in the judging was taste, followed by presentation and cooking skills.

"It's more about the taste and the key to a great taste is frying the spices properly, not too raw or overcooked. A unique service is also an important point," said Bondan, praising all of the amateur participants are fine cooks.

"They are great. They are not chefs but their cooking tasted good. We, the judges, had trouble deciding the winners in the recreational class. Some of them even cooked better than some of the professional participants. It was very surprising," he said.

In the professional class, Aniswan, a chef at Century Park Hotel, won first place.

Bondan said Aniswan won because his dish tasted so similar to the original recipe.

"Keeping the original taste is the most important thing. Besides, the serving still reflected the traditional aspects," Bondan said.

Aniswan and other winners received international and domestic tickets from Garuda, as well as prizes from other sponsors of the event.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com