Simply Brilliant

Chef Stefu Santoso shares the challenges of catering business and the current demand for comfort food. Anastasia Wibowo writes

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Chef Stefu Santoso’s career in the kitchen. Aside from his main role as the executive chef of APREZ Catering, which is managed by the AMUZ Group, the passionate chef is also the president of the Association of Culinary Professionals (ACP) Indonesia. Chef Stefu has been handling APREZ Catering and Café, which is headquartered at The Energy Building in SCBD in Jakarta, for seven years and counting. Read our interview below to delve into his life as a culinary professional.

Could you share with us your latest projects?

Aside from my regular activities in handling APREZ Catering, I also oversee the APREZ Café branches in Pakubuwono Residence and Pakubuwono View, and we are also preparing to launch a new one in Pakubuwono Spring. Most of the time, I am more into outside catering, with regular clients such as the ASEAN Secretariat and several embassies.

What are the challenges in the catering business?

The first is traffic. Jakarta’s traffic is totally unpredictable, so you cannot compromise but have to depart early—at least three hours before the event starts. The next issues are food safety and hygiene. I have to maintain the quality of food so it stays fresh and tasty.

Did you create a special Independence Day menu?

When it comes to Independence Day, people tend to go back to local food. If you look at our menu, the majority of it is Indonesian food. Nowadays, many people prefer comfort food to fancy food, so that’s why we focus more on Indonesian and Asian food. We do serve Western dishes like pasta and pizza, but overall, our Indonesian options like nasi goreng, nasi ayam Bali, nasi ayam sambal matah, and mangut ikan pari are the topselling dishes.

What factors do you consider in running a café?

Guests come to our restaurant to whet their appetite—they know what they want to order. I don’t want to be too much of an idealist, because in reality people want something simple. I created a dish called Beef Rice Bowl: very simple and practical food, but surprisingly, the guests love it. In this café, I have to consider four factors: taste, portion, price, and time. Our main customer base is businesspeople who have about an hour for lunch. If we cannot accommodate that, people will leave instantly. I also have to match the menu with my customers’ taste buds.

As the president of ACP, can you describe some of its activities?

In July, ACP and Hotelex Indonesia hosted the first Asian Gourmet Food Challenge 2018. Each team had to prepare a four-course set menu according to their categories: Indonesia and overseas (Asian). ACP really focuses on education. We hold many charity workshops supported by Modena. We invite experts from overseas and work with sponsored products, and we teach students basic knowledge such as how to process flour. We invite students from more than 10 culinary vocational high schools in the Jabodetabek area.