Year: 2017

Ottimmo have special guest on Friday, 28 July: Mr. Dahlan Iskan! Mr. Dahlan came to Ottimmo this morning and did some sports with us. He even became Ottimmo personal trainer! 🙂

After that, Mr. Dahlan visited Ottimmo facilities and tried some cuisines specially made by Ottimmo chefs. He enjoyed them very much and happy with the event in Ottimmo. He said that he would come to Ottimmo graduation day at Fairfield, Jl Mayjen Sungkono tomorrow. Yay!

Thank you very much Mr. Dahlan. Stay strong, cool, inspiring and happy. You are our inspiration. Proud of you!

OTTIMMO–SMKK Mater Amabilis takes all medals of Ottimmo International Culinary Competition Session 3, on Saturday, May 20. There were five teams from this school and all of them win the first place to the fifth place.

The members of the first winning team were Isadora Harum, Vincentius Anthony and Regina Clara. The got the highest scores in all judging aspects, cleanliness, time management, ingredient choice, creativity, plating and the palate.

The rules in this Culinary Competition was different from the third session last April. If the team cooked in turn before, now the team was divided. One member is made to read the recipe while the other two cooked and served it.

This system was not easy as the two students could not see the recipe. They can only listen to their teammate instructions. All of the teams have 1.5 hours to cook, serve and clean their station.

“The difficulty lies on how we translate the instructions from our teammate. If they are clear and simple, the cook will be easier. Fortunately, we can finish the dish on time,” said Isadora Harum.

For the second place, it was the team of Vani Angelina, Abigail Michelle and Clarissa Adinda. Based on the judging, the score difference was very small.

“Discipline is greatly emphasized in cooking. Some participant get score reductions as they were late coming out of the kitchen. Some teams also get the reduction from their cleanliness aspect, they did not make it in cleaning the utensils on time,” said Chef Zaldy Iskandar, the Head Judge, who is also the Director of Ottimmo International.

Culinary Competition which every session is participated by 12 teams from many senior high schools, will start again next June. Chef Zaldy hoped that SMA students can compete with SMK students.

OTTIMMO–Ottimmo International Culinary Challenge is reaching its final phase after a week ago the eighth phase was completed. At the moment, there are only six students remaining in the contest among fourth semester students and they will have a showdown this week.

The remaining students in Culinary Challenge are Alvin Liady, Antonio Sanjaya, Widodo Thungadi, Digna Thea, Nasya Gunawan and Elvia Christina. The three students eliminated last week were Farid Azhari, Helmy P and Jimmy Sutadji.

Last week, those nine students were divided into three groups, India, the USA and Japan. They were asked to cook for 180 people, including all students and chefs in Ottimmo International. Team Japan and India got the highest scores.

For this week, the Culinary Challenge will have another selection and determine the best three students. The selection format is still classified. “This week, Culinary Challenge will eliminate three more students. From the six students, there will be three left for the final,” explained Chef Zaldy Iskandar, Director of Ottimmo International.

“The format and system of the selection is still classified. The point is, Culinary Challenge always present new challenges in each phase and it will be a surprise for them. Like the previous showdown, the judging is based on many aspects, not only for the palate,” said Chef Zaldy.

Meanwhile, one of the participants of Culinary Challenge Antonio Sanjaya said that he was ready for the next challenges. After succeeding in the eighth phase last week, he did not have any intention to stop at the big six. His target is qualifying for the final.

“I am ready for the next Culinary Challenge and I am optimistic to qualify for the final. There’s no special preparation, but I am ready for the competition. My target is the final as I have worked really hard to reach this point,” said Antonio Sanjaya. (*)

OTTIMMO— When we talk about cooking, the commoners will naturally think of the taste and the presentation. They are indeed the simplest parameters to judge a dish. However, there are some other parameters which are more important.

One of the important aspects which is prioritized in Ottimmo International, besides the taste and the presentation, is cleanliness. This is an essential factor which can be deemed to be equal with the two other aspects. This cleanliness aspect is always reflected in any activities in Ottimmo campus.

During practical lessons in the kitchen, the students do not only come and cook. They are obliged to clean up their stations and utensils. In short, the kitchen is clean as they arrive, it must be clean as they leave.

After the lessons, students wash their own utensils in the prepared spot. The tables, stoves, and drawers must be clean. This kind of responsibility is always instilled to the freshmen or the senior students.

“No matter how delicious the dish is, how beautiful the plating is, all of them are meaningless if the cleanliness is disregarded,” stated Chef Zaldy Iskandar, Director of  Ottimmo International.

Not only the utensils and the stations, the ingredients must also be clean and hygienic. Ottimmo has the finest facility to keep the ingredients clean and the students are used to that condition.

“In Ottimmo International, students are accustomed to be responsible for the cleanliness. Hopefully, later on, they will bring this sense of responsibility in their work or their business. Culinary business can’t be separated from cleanliness and hygiene,” added Chef Zaldy.

Cleanliness is not only instilled to the students. In any events held by Ottimmo International such as Cooking Competition for senior high school students, cleanliness is at the top of the judging aspects.

OTTIMMO—The lessons on Asian culinary arts was ended with Japanese food. For the whole week, the students have learned to cook Ramen, Yakisoba and Sushi.

For the last few weeks, second semester students have learned various Asian dishes, from Indian, Korean, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Malaysian and Indonesian food. After finishing the lessons on Japanese food, next week the students will learn more on Latin American cuisine.

As a review to the Asian cuisine lessons, Chef Jerry said that overall, the students have understood the character of Asian cuisine. Accuracy in using spices and techniques are necessary for cooking Asian food.

“The students have succeeded in mastering Asian cuisine with satisfactory result. They had practiced well on how to use spices and learned the techniques seriously,” stated Chef Jerry, one of the instructors in Ottimmo International’s kitchen.

After learning more on Japanese and other Asian cuisine, Chef Jerry reminded them to keep practicing and expand their knowledge on Asian culinary arts as the way to cook them is very different from cooking other continents.

“To make the lessons stick on their mind, students must also learn by themselves and expand their knowledge on it. If there is a problem during their practice at home, students can ask the chefs and we will provide guidance later,” said Chef Jerry.

Japanese food for example, there are some techniques which they should be more careful, such as rolling sushi. It looks easy, but it is not as easy as it looks. Therefore, students must practice them again outside the class.

OTTIMMO – Chef as a profession is not only about the skill of cooking in the kitchen. More than that, a chef needs to have other skills to support their performance in the kitchen. In Ottimmo International Mastergourmet Academy, the students do not only learn to cook various dishes in the world. They also learn skills they need to be professional chefs.

One of those skills is communication. The skill is learned in a special subject in class. Communication skill plays a crucial role for chefs as they will not work alone later on, but they will work in a team as well.

“Professional chefs must be able to communicate well. Not only to communicate well with partners in the kitchen, but also in a wider context. They must be a team player and also capable of coordinating their own team. Excellent communication is necessary,” explained Tri Ambarwatie Msi, the lecturer of communication skill.

Chef profession, added Tri, is not an individual job which does not involve interaction. Culinary business development demands a chef to be skillful, especially when they decide to choose entrepreneurship for their career choice.

“When you work in a company, chefs must be able to work with their partners. Meanwhile, the chefs who have their own business must be able to do more. They have to manage their business and great communication skill is needed in their relation with internal and external people,” she elaborated.

Communication skill class covers interpersonal communication, public speaking and understanding other global language cultures. Students are also taught to handle conflicts professionally.

“Conflicts can happen at work, with work partners, subordinates or our boss. It is important for chefs who have their own business to resolve the conflict among their subordinates. The chefs must also have great leadership skill,” Tri said.

Based on international standards, Communication skill class in Ottimmo International Mastergourmet Academy is presented in English. It makes the students ready to interact not only Indonesian but also people from other countries. (*)

OTTIMMO — Few weeks ago Ottimmo International welcomed a special guest: Chef Widjiono Purnomo, CFBE, CEC, or known as Chef Yono. Chef Yono is the founder of Yono’s Scholarship Foundation, a foundation founded in New York that concerns about education in culinary academy. He came to Indonesia to scout young talents in culinary to be given scholarship.

Chef Yono, who owns two restaurants in Albany district, New York, believes in the power of dreams. He ever worked in dutch cruise for years, owning a restaurant but got burnt, almost bankrupt, but he bounced back ever since and came into this phase of life.

“Doesn’t matter where and when is your start. What matters the most is your finish line,” said Yono who grew up in East Jakarta before joining Sekolah Tinggi Pariwisata, Bandung, back in 1971.

After graduated from the school, Chef Yono then joined Holland American Line for seven years. In the cruise he only came home once in six of eight months. Such experience gave him a broad knowledge about the world. “When I am in the cruise, my mind traveled. Seeking and wondering what would I do in the future. I was dreaming about chances,” Yono said.

Yono then met the chances in New York. He stopped from the cruise and started a new life with his wife, a US citizen who he met in the ship. He started from scratch in the down town of New York then took class in culinary academy to gain knowledge about managing a restaurants and making great dishes. (Agung Putu Iskandar)

OTTIMMO— Next week lessons in the kitchen of Ottimmo International are still about Asian Culinary. There are some dishes they need to learn to cook for the whole week, Indian, Indonesian and Malaysian food.

Early next week, three Indian dishes will be presented to them, Chapati, Chicken Rice Pilaf and Cikpea-Veggie Curry. Special for Chapati and Veggie Curry, they are usually served together, as bread and curry.

To cook Indian food, according to Chef Arya, one of the instructors of Ottimmo International, the students should pay more attention to the use of spices and the curry concentration. Both aspects should be perfect to serve perfect Indian food.

“Sometimes, the curry is too watery or too thick. It is not good as it should be perfect. The use of spices should also be carefully managed as Indian and other Asian food is rich in spices,” said Chef Arya.

During the midweek, Indonesian and Malaysian food will be practiced. For the Indonesian food, Singgang Roasted Chicken is chosen and the Malaysian food is about Penang Asam Laksa.

Why chose Singgang Roasted Chicken? “We intentionally present unpopular dish, so the students can expand their knowledge on Indonesian food. If we presented Rendang or Soto, it would have been too common,” said Chef Arya. (kukuh setyawan)