Charles Toto, better known the Jungle Chef of Papua, had the opportunity to introduce the cuisine of Papua at the Indonesia Festival Melbourne 2024 (6/10).
Charles Toto or familiarly called Chef Chato is on a mission to raise the popularity of Papuan cuisine by conducting gastrodiplomacy. The man who has been working as a forest chef since 1997 often learns how his brothers in the forest survive by making dishes from natural ingredients.
Chef Chato told kumparanFOOD that he started working as a hotel chef. Later, he also worked for a travel agency. At that time, his job was to cook and serve food for travellers.
Not only does he serve food, Chef Chato cooks directly from the sites visited by tourists. He cooks from the jungle to the the coastal regions.
Chef Chato is renowned for his skill in working with what Papua’s nature provides. A graduate of a culinary vocational school, he makes bread moulds from used cans, uses eucalyptus bark as a natural aromatic for food, and uses areca nut fronds to wrap dishes.
For him, “The forest is a market where Papuans can shop without spending money.”
During his journey as an ambassador of Papua’s gastronomic heritage, chef Chato admits to falling more and more in love with his work. His recent showing at the Indonesia Festival Melbourne 2024 was a step in his gastrodiplomacy quest to further promote Papua’s jungle cuisine to the world.
Together with another Indonesian chef, Chef Tati, he introduced two Papuan specialities to Australians. Chef Chato told kumparan that the dishes he served at the festival were sago wrapped in taro leaves and clams. The Australian visitors showed great interest in his cooking demonstration.
While cooking he also told them about Papuan food and spices that are simple but have a distinctive flavour. “Food will feel comforting on the tongue when there is a story behind the food,” he wrote in a photo caption that he shared through his personal Instagram.
According to him, this act is a step for him to achieve change for Papua.
West Papua Now 