Rendang Becomes the Favorite Menu of Indonesian Hajj Pilgrims

VIVA – The Saudi Arabian Hajj Organizing Committee (PPIH) has long established a policy that the food consumed by the pilgrims must have an Indonesian taste. Especially the favorite for Indonesian people. One of the chefs at the Rogoib catering company in the Syauqiyah area, Sofiyanto, said that the rendang and meat stew were one of the most favorite menus for Indonesian Hajj Pilgrims in Mecca.

"The rendang and meat stew menus are one of the menus favored by the congregation," said Sofiyanto, a man from Subang-West Java who has worked as a chef for 8 years in five-star restaurants and hotels in Indonesia.

"It's a pleasure to be a chef, Alhamdulilah, being able to serve Hajj pilgrims, we also feel happy when the Indonesian hajj pilgrim enjoys their food with Indonesian flavors," added Sofiyanto.

When creating a strong Indonesian taste, the spices to make the food are also imported directly from Indonesia.

"We bring the spices to the catering company to use spices from Indonesia so that we get an Indonesian taste," said the Catering Supervisor of the Saudi Arabia Hajj Organizing Committee (PPIH) 1443H/2022M Makkah Working Area, Rusna Purnama.

"Actually, the spices are already here, the spices actually complete with turmeric, Laos, Salam, lemongrass and others, all of which are imported from Indonesia by Indonesian exporters to Saudi Arabia," added Rusna Purnama.

Rusna conveyed that to maintain the taste of the Indonesian archipelago, the catering companies must recruit chefs from Indonesia.

"That's a precondition that must be provided by catering companies to provide chefs from Indonesia with a culinary background," said Rusna.

"There are chefs from five-stars hotels from Indonesia, restaurants and Indonesian catering companies. That is one of the criteria for selecting a catering company that provides congregants' consumption," he added.

Rusna also said that the food menu is determined by the Hajj Organizing Committee (PPIH). The menu is determined starting from Monday morning, afternoon, and evening, Tuesday morning afternoon and so on.

"From the menu we determine, fish as much as 7 times. Why fish? because the congregation liked fish. In Saudi Arabia, mostly there is catfish, but we process it with different spices so that the congregation does not get bored. There are also stir-fried chickpeas, broccoli, eggplant balado, green chili tuna and others," he explained.

"Then the chicken, in the menu cycle there are 6 times a week, we also process it with different spices so it is not boring, the meat is given in 5 times, processed into beef rendang and tongseng," he continued.

So, about the catering supervision, Rusna said that the supervision was carried out at the Makkah Work Area office and sector.

This food supervision is the totality of all of us, there are 31 catering companies in Makkah that we supervise. Starting from preparing food ingredients, selecting raw materials, quality," said Rusna.

In addition to the selection of raw materials, according to him, the processing process is subject to strict supervision, up to distribution to the Indonesian hajj pilgrims at the hotel.

“This supervision is not only carried out in the kitchen, but also at the hotel. Each kitchen provides an average of 6-7 chefs. We make sure how to monitor the quality of the food that will be consumed by the hajj pilgrims in terms of taste, it must have an Indonesian taste," explained Rusna.

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VIVA.co.id

11 November 2024