Category: News

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)

OTTIMMO—Contestants from SMA Petra 1 dominated the second session of Ottimmo International Cooking Competition 2017 on Saturday, April 8, 2017. Two teams from the school have won the first and the second place of the cooking competition.

The team at the First Place from SMA Petra 1, winning Rp 10 million prize money were   Alvaro, Timothy and Nicholas while at the Second Place, there were Airine, Zaneta and Zelena. They won Rp 7.5 million prize money.

The third place winner was a team of Deanna, Magdalena and Zarina from SMA Petra 2. They got Rp 5 million prize money from the competition.  There were also Fourth place winning Rp4 million, from SMA Santa Maria (Felicia, Clifford and Nicholas), and SMA Gloria 2 (Jevon, Sherina and Vanessa) as the Fifth place winner.

This Cooking Competition 2017 held in Ottimmo International was the second session out of four sessions and the total prize money is Rp91 million. The participants failed in the second sessions can still participate for the third session which will be held in May 2017.

For the winners, they can participate again next year. “The results were quite satisfying, but there are still important aspects the participants need to pay more attention. One of them is cleanliness, it is very important in cooking,” explained Chef Zaldy Iskandar, Head of the Judges in this Cooking Competition.

Chef Zaldy added, “Some participants excel in savor and performance, but they cannot be the winner as they lack cleanliness. It is a good experience for all participants, that there are many aspects they need to consider as they cook.”

The judges observed some aspects from the competition, cleanliness, time management, choice of ingredients, creativity, plate presentation and savor.  Some participants could not finish the dish in 90 minutes, so they did not have time to clean their stations.

Even though the ingredients had been decided during technical meeting a week before, they participants still had difficulties in cooking their dishes in Ottimmo International’s kitchen. “We had rehearsed before. We thought that lamb would still smell when we cook it. But fortunately it didn’t happen as we know the trick,” said Sherina from SMA Gloria 2.(kukuh setyawan)

OTTIMMO—Besides having lessons in the kitchen, students of OTTIMMO International are also assigned to projects training their skills to organize events. One of the events was Easter Luncheon which was held on Friday, April 7, in the campus of OTTIMMO International.

As many as 44 students divided into four groups, serving dishes for 22 expatriates specially invited for the event. Those four group have their own tasks, preparing appetizers, main course, desserts, service and beverages.

The dishes served were Cup of Savory (Appetizer), Chicken Scotch Egg, Rice Beef Burger, Tortilla Statue (Main Course), Cheese Cake (Dessert) while for the beverages, the guest can choose between Mint Paradise, coffee or tea.

Overall, this event ran well but some things were in need of improvements. “This Easter Luncheon is to train the students to organize an event well. They are expected to perform with great teamwork to achieve successful event,” stated Chef Zaldy Iskandar, Director of OTTIMMO International.

A project like Easter Luncheon, according to Chef Zaldy, will also affect the students final marks later, so this kind of event demands excellent planning and execution. “After the event, we reviewed their weaknesses and strengths,” said Chef Zaldy.

Tommy Terisno, one of the students who took part in Easter Luncheon admitted that his team still makes some mistakes in that event. “It’s better for us to make mistakes now than later in the real events. We learned a lot from this and hopefully from this event we understand the importance of detailed preparation,” said Tommy.

Meanwhile, Isabel Gomes, one of the guests, said that she had a great time involved in the event. She really enjoyed the meal served by Ottimmo’s students. “I really like cup of savory,” he stated. Overall, she enjoyed the food. “But I think the cup of savory could use a little sourness,” she said.

OTTIMMO—Ottimmo International Martergourmet Academyis organizing a competition to show senior high school students’ skills in the kitchen. This Saturday, April 8, there will be 12 schools taking parts in Ottimmo International Cooking Competition.

Cooking Competition is the second session out of four sessions to be held from March to June. Each session is limited to 12 participating schools so the competition in Ottimmo International’s kitchen can be optimal as it is adjusted with the kitchen capacity.

Most of the participating senior high schools are from Surabaya and they send a group of three students. They will be challenged to cook with ingredients determined by drawing during the technical meeting on Saturday, April 1.

“Each group will cook with ingredients containing protein and carbohydrate. They are free to choose their ingredients and prepare them into any dishes they want. It is limited only in 90 minutes,” said Theresia Christina, Ottimmo International marketing staff as well as the committee of Cooking Competition.

Tere, how she is addressed, added that the vegetables are also prepared for the participants to complement their dishes. They are free to bring their own ingredients as long as they are not cooked or prepared yet.

“In the protein category, chicken, shrimps, beef, dory, lamb and eels are prepared while for the carbohydrate, potatoes, rice, cassava, corn, and spaghetti are prepared. The participants have drawn their choices, for instance SMA Petra 1 got rice and eels,” she explained.

The participants already know what they are going to cook, but there will be a surprise rule during the competition. It will be a tough challenge for the participants.

The judging will be based on some aspects, taste, plating, creativity, time management, ingredients and cleanliness. “So the participants won’t only cook and then it’s finished. They are expected to clean their cooking stations,” added Tere. (kukuh setyawan)

OTTIMMO—After four weeks learning to cook European dishes, students of Ottimmo International Mastergourmet Academy presented with a different challenge. As of this week, they are introduced with Asian dishes which are very different from the European ones, either from how they are prepared or served.

The first dishes presented to the second semester students are Vietnamese and Thai’s, Vietnamese Spring Rolls-Cha Gio and Chicken Wrapped in Pandan Leaves. Both selected as they are of special menu in each country.

According to Chef Chef Jerry, one of the instructors in Ottimmo International’s kitchen, there are two important things the students need to be more careful. First, the technique used to tie the pandan leaves so they will work perfectly as a wrap.

This technique of tying leaves determines the outlook of the chicken during frying or when it is served. Second, how to carefully roll the rice paper to make Spring Rolls.  Some water should be applied as they the rice paper is quite sticky.

“I saw that the students can learn quickly on how to roll and tie the leaves. With only a lesson, they can already do it well. The kitchen class today is very satisfactory,” said Chef Jerry.

After the Vietnamese and Thai dishes, this midweek the students will learn to cook Korean dish, followed with Chinese, Indonesian and other countries with their own uniqueness and challenges.