Cooking for Humanity

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

Chefs Bernard Chew and Figie Subrata cook for evacuees affected by the earthquake, tsunami and soil liquefaction in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Friday, Oct 12. They have cooked thousands of restaurant-style rice dishes for the evacuees.

Earthquake victims can be helped in various ways. A chef couple, a husband and wife, who own a restaurant in Jimbaran, Bali, are helping the survivors by cooking restaurant-style food.

, a chef and a restaurant owner in Jimbaran, Bali, was in East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, when suddenly the roof of a public kitchen collapsed because of an aftershock. Luckily he survived.

Bernard was in Lombok to cook for the earthquake survivors. The earthquake did not frighten him. He continued cooking for the evacuees in Lombok. During one week in Lombok, approximately 20,000 packages of rice were served to the evacuees.

On Oct. 4, Bernard and his wife, Figie Subrata, who is also a chef, arrived in Palu, Central Sulawesi. Both of them went to Palu to help the earthquake survivors with their skills. What they cook is not ordinary food, but restaurant-style cuisine, such as Singaporean fried rice, ginger chicken oyster sauce, sardine cakes, vegetable fritters and meat stews.

“I almost died from being hit by the collapsed roof when I was in Lombok. Fortunately, I was able to run away. However, I continue cooking for many people. In such a situation, I feel I have to help,” Bernard said when we met at his kitchen in Palu City, Friday (12/10/2018).

The kitchen was made with the help of Palu city residents, who are frequent visitors to his restaurant in Bali. It measures 10 by 5 meters and has four gas stoves. One stove is used to cook rice and the other three to cook side dishes.

“Normally, if we cook for many people we need at least 10 stoves. But we can only buy this,” Bernard said.

On a 3-meter long table, there were pieces of vegetables and meat neatly arranged in aluminum basins. Figie and Bernard chose their own ingredients. Every morning they shop at the market. For rice, they get help from several foundations.

Bernard and Figie were helped by Yarto, a chef from Gili Trawangan, Lombok, and two other people from Australia. “Those from Australia are teachers, but they help us cook,” Figie said.

Since their arrival until now, they have cooked 11,000 packages of rice with various kinds of side dishes. The packages were distributed to the evacuation centers in Palu, Donggala and Sigi.

In a day, they cook at least 2,000 rice packages. Sometimes they are assisted by several local residents.

To distribute the rice, they are assisted by Palu city volunteers. One of them was chairperson of the National Indonesian Youth Committee (KNPI) of Palu city Fitri Kennedy.

“We distribute the rice packages to the evacuees fresh from the kitchen. The work must be fast. After being wrapped up, the food is immediately distributed so that the evacuees can enjoy it warm,” Fitri said.

Having a heart

Bernard and Figie made a public kitchen because they didn\'t have the heart to see the condition of the survivors, who oftentimes have to consume instant noodles. Besides, most of the humanitarian aid is in the form of rice and cooking oil while not everyone in the evacuation centers owns a stove.

According to Figie, the evacuees should be able to get better quality food. Moreover, they live with limitations in emergency tents. So, they give help by cooking to ensure the health of the evacuees.

“When we are cooking, we never use salt, especially to flavor the dishes. The salty taste is from soy sauce and other ingredients,” Figie said.

Nur Fatimah, 43, an earthquake survivor from Petobo, southern Palu, still remembers Bernard and Figie\'s cooking even though they never met. “The cooking is delicious, it tastes like the food from a restaurant,” he said.

The rice packages are not only distributed to the evacuees, but also to the on-duty officers, such as the police, members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and officers from the public order police, Satpol PP.

When Vice President Jusuf Kalla visited Palu on Friday, Bernard and his team were asked to cook. The cooking was then served at the office of the Central Sulawesi governor.

“I live in Indonesia, make money here and my wife is also from here. Of course, I have to give help as best I can,” said Bernard, a Singaporean who now has become an Indonesian citizen.

Of course, Bernard and his team are not the only ones who provide foods for the evacuees in Palu. There are a number of other public kitchens, for example those run by the city administration, the provincial administration, the Social Affairs Ministry, the National Zakat Agency and volunteers such as the quick response team, ACT.

Based on data from the Joint Integrated Task Force of the TNI, there are currently 78,994 evacuees living in emergency tents. For evacuees who get rice packages from Bernard and his team, the delicacy of the meal they consume can turn grief into smiles even only during eating.

Bernard and his team were in Lombok for seven days. Based on their plan, they intended to be in Palu for eight days. Later they decided to extend another 14 days to cook for humanity.