After contributing several innovations such as GeNose as Covid-19 detector and Wolbachia Mosquito to reduce the number of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF), UGM contributed to the development of culinary and gastronomic studies in the country through the UGM Faculty of Agricultural Technology (FTP).
The Republic of Indonesia Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Dr. Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno had officially launched it online. This official launching was organized together with a webinar entitled Indonesian Gastronomy: The Powerful Soft Power in Growing the Nation’s Welfare. There were two speakers invited: Director-General of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Dr. Hilmar Farid, CoFounder & CEO PT. Core Food Source, Chairman of PK2GI., Dr. Supriyadi.
Sandiaga Uno appreciated UGM’s efforts in launching the Center for Culinary and Gastronomic Studies in Indonesia. He said the Covid-19 pandemic had hit the creative economy sector and the culinary sub-sector. It needs to be revived by implementing cleanliness, healthy, safety, and environmental sustainability in the field of the creative economy.
“There is CHSE, an abbreviation of cleanliness, healthy, safety, and environmental sustainability certification within the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. It is a general standard in which culinary and gastronomy must suffice to rebuild customer trust, integrate a sense of security and comfort in traveling, and enjoy creating products including culinary fields,” he explained.
There is also an effort from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economic in incubation for creative economy stakeholders. This effort is necessary to make it easier to achieve success without supervision and funding. Besides, they must also synergize to improve the creative economy in Indonesia.
“Since we are left behind, we need to run quickly as a strategy to improve GDP contribution. The contribution to GDP is currently only 14.99 percent, and the target can continue to rise to 30 percent,” he explained. Therefore, he encouraged collaboration in culinary and gastronomy development in Indonesia to improve Indonesia’s culinary and strengthen food sovereignty.
UGM Chancellor, Prof. Panut Mulyono, appreciated UGM FTP’s effort in establishing the Center for Culinary and Gastronomic Studies in Indonesia. As an educational institution and Science Technology development, UGM highly supported this effort as a medium for either researchers or practitioners in its further learning in the field of culinary. Panut also added that Indonesia had abundant biodiversity and diverse natural resources such as spices, vegetables, fish, cereals, and others.
“Resources and local wisdom had not been well-optimized. Therefore, in-depth scientific study regarding gastronomy development is necessary,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the Dean of UGM FTP, Prof. Eni Harmayani, mentioned that food resources had a crucial role in human life. Indonesia indeed has abundant culinary and gastronomy resources in which if well-managed, it will contribute to society’s welfare.
“Regrettably, up to the present, there has not been documentation or scientific study that potentially supports culinary and gastronomy in Indonesia to be widely noticed and expanded for either Indonesian or International human resource development,” she explained. This reasonable background has become UGM FTP’s focus to establish the Center for Culinary and Gastronomic Studies in Indonesia to examine Indonesia’s culinary and gastronomy sectors further. In addition, it also aims to introduce Indonesia’s gastronomy abundant resources to the world.
