Merangkai Rasa di Gorontalo/Trailing the Taste of Gorontalo is a collection of articles on pleasure, satisfaction, zest, and curiosity about Gorontalo written by our friends.

The book made its debut at the Ubud Food Festival, a 3-day culinary adventure with a program rich in food mythology, authenticity and taste.

Gorontalo is a province with scenic landscapes such as forests, rice fields, beaches, underwater views, hills, rivers and lake. Although best known as the ancestral land of one Indonesian president, several renowned thinkers and national businesspeople who enjoyed food from this area, Gorontalo has not yet become a tourist destination for foodie.

The Province of Gorontalo was officially established on 22 December 2000 with the city of Gorontalo as the provincial capital. In addition to the City of Gorontalo, its administrative regions include four districts namely Boalemo, Bone Bolango, Gorontalo Utara and Pohuwato.

Initiated by Arie Parikesit, his travel experience and belief that Gorontalo has many hidden culinary treasures, 16 food travelers venture to the area in May 2015.

This enthusiastic group entered unknown culinary territory, penned down their experiences and snapped some shots to record how Gorontalo pampered their five senses.

Sutiono Gunadi, an observer of information communication technology and environmental issues who has been a travel blogger since 2009 even composed eleven articles uploaded to Kompasiana. The articles discuss various travel tips in Gorontalo mentioned as “out of the box” tourist destination. He also wrote about dozens of culinary delicacies of the area and listed souvenirs for take away.

Hence, came the idea to compile the writings as a reference for those who would be interested in Gorontalo Food Travel. It then evolved like a snowball. The number of pages added up with additional posts by those who had encountered the taste of Gorontalo like Adinda Pryanka of Harian Nasional who published Gorontalo Taste Sensation in the newspaper.

 Suzanty Sitorus

Anie Annisa who resides in Gorontalo and recently crowned as Maize Super Woman by CIMMYT, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, due to her consistency on corn awareness, writes how sweet milu pulo is.

Arifasno Napu who earned a doctorate through research on the role of traditional foods for health explains his struggle to preserve Gorontalo traditional foods through a regulation. Arifasno also presents dozens of Gorontalo foods identified through his research.

Noor Sitoresmi, a diver who likes to cook reviews the beauty of Gorontalo along with food tastings and sipping warm and cold drinks. Pulau Saronde and Pantai Indah are just two of hundreds of spectacular sceneries in Gorontalo.

 Donald Wahani

It is widely proven that food travels rapidly improve the economy of a region, hence Dian Anggraini outlines the elements of food travel and the benefits of this hidden opportunity.

The book content is mostly in Bahasa Indonesia, but an English Corner is available for our international friends who wish to know more about food tourism in general and Gorontalo in particular. In this section Erik Wolf, the Executive Director of the World Food Travel Association (WFTA) provides some guidelines on how to develop food tourism destinations as well as its growing global trend. In essence the popularity of food tours will not diminish due to its various benefits.

Through its research results, the WFTA compiled 13 PsychoCulinay profiles that explain the difference in foodies’ behavior. These profiles can explain why, for example a person likes a new restaurant while his friends do not fancy it.

 World Food Travel Association

This book presents a total of nine Gorontalo dishes displayed with recipes for those who want to try cooking the foods at home.

We are grateful for the efforts of many contributors to this book. Although it is undeniable that each writer has a different style and depth, and there may be repetition of certain topics in some articles, we hope that the common thread of Rasa Gorontalo, the Taste of Gorontalo, may minimize inconveniences.

Readers may become familiar with the Taste of Gorontalo and enjoy the beauty of this ancestral land by reading the book end to end, with the freedom to start anywhere, or even reading just one or two parts.

Our thanks to the 16 food travelers who submitted their stories for this book. Gratitudes to friends in Gorontalo: Agus Lahinta, Budi Akantu, Chris Al Munawarah, Debby Mano, Syam Terrajana and Rahman Dako who often facilitate events to gain knowledge on all aspects related to the taste of Gorontalo.

We appreciate thought leaders and colleagues who penned testimonials recollecting their experience in taste travel and exploring Gorontalo. Among them are William Wongso, Indonesia’s culinary expert; Professional Chef Vindex Tengker; and Elena Aniere, Program Director for Asia and Oceania, Slow Food International.

As a nonprofit institution that continues to raise public awareness in the field of agriculture, food and culinary arts, we hope to keep working with stakeholders in tracking and analyzing the food of Gorontalo and its benefits for local communities.

Happy reading.

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