Andrew is Indonesian-born, from Malang. After experiencing haute cuisine and learning from some of the best chefs available, he is now a chef at Wah Resort on Gili Trawangan, where he is always keen to expand his skills even further. He puts them to good use, and offers guests a range of styles, on request, but always with a focus on quality local ingredients.    

Tell us about your career and some of the places you have worked.

I had been living in Australia and for about 5 years I worked in some of the top restaurants in Melbourne, under chefs like Joseph Vargetto, Ian Alexander, and Juliana Landrivon. To learn from Juliana Landrivon was the best experience for me; she is one of the best chefs in Melbourne of her era (1990s). I learned a lot about classy French cuisine and how to use expensive ingredients – such as foie gras, truffles and caviar – and treat them with respect

After I left Melbourne, I worked in Bali under Kieran Moreland and Maxie Millian at the Merah Putih and Sangsaka Bali restaurants.

What brought you to Wah Resort?

I had my own place, called Stagiaire – a fine dining restaurant, specialising in French cuisine. One day the owner of the Wah Resort on Gili Trawangan visited my place and was impressed with our dishes. He asked me if I would be his chef consultant, to help set up his restaurant, create the menu and train his staff.

How would you define your style of cooking?

So far my cooking style has been modern French cuisine, but since I have come back to Indonesia I’ve started to learn ways to take Indonesian dishes to the next level. With my background in French cuisine, I’ve been able to combine French cooking techniques with local Indonesian ingredients and flavours.

Tell us about the concept for your menu at Wah Resort?

It is not always haute cuisine, but I will keep it at a higher level than other restaurants in Gili. Ours is probably the only restaurant that can serve semi fine dining quality food to customers who request it for a special occasion. On normal days, we serve bistro style food with high quality ingredients and the right flavours; I have found out it is sometimes hard to find good food in Gili Trawangan.

Which dish do you most like to cook?

I enjoy cooking anything that involves a combination of molecular and modern techniques of cooking.

Which do you think are the guests’ favourites?

So far the feedback from our guests shows they love our scallops, lobsters, and our fish of the day. We change the fish and the garnishes daily.

Do you have particular ingredients you really like to cook with?

I like to use venison, quail, pigeon, and any kind of fish.

Which is your ‘must have’ kitchen gadget?

A really sharp knife. It is essential, since we use it in almost every cooking task.

Describe your typical working day.

Mostly I’m either in the office, doing some development work on the recipes and the menu, or going into the kitchen to do quality control, and run the meal service. I also pass on new knowledge to my brigade, and show them how to execute things.

What do you like most about your job?

I always like to find new ingredients, especially in Gili, where we have a lot of fish. I figure out how to use new fishes every day; it’s all part of increasing my knowledge and experience.

What is the biggest challenge?

Myself. Sometime I need to beat my own ego and just serve good food to our customers. Not everyone loves haute cuisine or fine dining, so I need to suppress my ego, and lower the level. It sounds easy to do, but for me it isn’t.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to snorkel and just chill…

What foods do you really love to eat? Anything you would never eat?

A dish I love, and remember from my childhood, is nasi goreng – I could eat it every day. I really don’t like petai (a type of green bean) and jengkol (a very strong smelling legume)

Other than creating great food, what would you say are the most important qualities that make a successful chef?

It’s important to be humble, have good attitude, and never think that you are the best. There are no successful chefs who got there by thinking they were the best.

If you hadn’t become a chef, what do you think you would be doing right now?

Maybe I would just do what my parents do.

Any tips for budding chefs?

I would say: work hard, be disciplined, always put your head down, do more listening than talking, and accept criticism, because it builds you. The most important thing is not to be arrogant when you succeed. As far I know, people might be really smart, but if they are arrogant they just don’t go anywhere; they get stuck because they think they are already the best.

Do you have a favourite celebrity chef?

No, not a celebrity chef, but I do have favourite chef, and her cooking has influenced me a lot. It’s my own ‘Master Chef’, Juliana Landrivon, from Doric House. She was the person who was really patient enough to drag out all of my potential, so I could be who I am today.

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