One of Indonesia’s most prominent culinary figures with an undying passion for Indonesian food, William Wongso is best known for his enigmatic zeal in promoting Indonesian food abroad, as well as being in charge of some of the most successful food establishments in the country.
While specially trained in Asian and European cuisine, William learns from all kinds of chefs and in various culinary establishments, whether it’s street-food or Michelin-starred restaurants. Despite his international accolades and impressive achievements, William proudly campaigns to shine the spotlight on Indonesian cuisine.
William believes in a very hands-on approach to understanding the culinary essence of numerous parts of the world. The culinary expert has visited many Indonesian regions to capture the best elements of each province. “This is important because every province in Indonesia has its own unique style, presentation, ingredients, etc. The best way to understand every individual dish is right where they have been cooked for generations. There is no other way to capture the character and soul of Indonesia’s regional cuisines.”
One of Indonesia’s dishes that William is most partial to is rendang, a meat curry dish cooked for hours in ginger, turmeric leaves, lemon grass, chillies and other traditional spices. “I started focusing on rendang more than ten years ago because of its authentic uniqueness. I can claim it as the most difficult and the most unique food in the world. It is the only dish that you can’t leave alone. It takes four to nine hours to cook, depending on the quality of the meat.”
Aside from running Warung Sunset, a barbecue rib restaurant in Bali, some of his accolades include the 2001 Chevalier Dans L’ordre du Merite Agricole by the French Ministry of Agriculture and being named the Korean Tourism Ambassador for Indonesia in 2009.
