The system service of Rijsttafel

                           The system service of Rijsttafel 

The arrival of Europeans to Indonesia to Jakarta, which was popularly called Batavia in the 17th century. At first, the purpose of Europeans to Indonesia was for the spice trade and colonialization. This triggered acculturation or the combination of new cultures. In addition, it is not only culinary cultural products that are affected, but also habits including ways of cooking and serving food that are oriented towards Europeans. This combined cultural product is called “Indis Culture” (Wijaya & Rahma, 2022). In the beginning, this Indis culture arose when Europeans married natives because the Dutch felt lonely and wanted to fulfill their biological needs, so they had to marry native women. In addition, the presence of native women for them is not only to fulfill biological needs, but can cook food for them.

The introductory paragraph indicates that there is a process of acculturation of culinary culture from the crossing of European culture and native culture shown by the existence of Indis culture in Batavia (Jakarta). Thus, the appearance of a new culture of serving system or the way of enjoying dishes adopted from Europe, namely “Rijsttafel”.  The arrival of Rijsttafel was influenced by the arrival of Dutch colonialism to Indonesia in the 17th century. Rijsttafel was popular in Jakarta (Batavia) from 1870 to 1942. The word Rijsttafel is taken from the Dutch which means “Rice Table”, that is a rice dish served on the dining table along with side dishes. This service system was originated in Indonesia, and the food served is authentic Indonesian cuisine inspired by Padang's signature dish of a single platter of rice served around an assortment of side dishes, vegetables and sauces. Historically, Rijsttafel was used in Dutch colonial times to host large celebratory meals. This service system is very popular abroad, especially in the Netherlands.

According to the characteristics of the Rijsttafel service concept system in the Dutch colonial era (Subakti, 2019):

1.     Served by many servers carrying one course each in its heyday in the Dutch east Indies era, the most luxurious version of the formal Rijsttafel meal consisted of a procession of formally dressed servants. Usually, female waiters wear a complete kebaya cloth. Meanwhile, male waiters wear Indonesian Java traditional cloth beskap, blangkon, and batik cloth.

2.     Food is served marathon to the dining table serving food is served honourable and officially serving dozens to dozens of plates filled with various dishes marathon to the dining table where guests sit to enjoy the Rijsttafel concept dishes.

3.     The menu of food served in the Rijsttafel concept dish is up to 40 dishes. The first dish is white rice which is sometimes in the form of a small tumpeng served on the guest's plate, then one by one the waiters come with a various dishes consist of side dishes, vegetables, fried foods, sambal and crackers. The food menu served in the history of Rijsttafel can reach up to 40 types of food menus specialties of the archipelago and some Western food menus.

4.     Guests take their own meals. The Rijsttafel concept dishes are offered and served to the guests in batches. They take the dishes themselves from the plates brought by the waiters. The procession of waiters in the history of Rijsttafel coming they came in turn with a various dish that could even number up to 40 kinds. However, in the history of Rijsttafel, there are also other Rijsttafel concepts that only serve white rice in the center, which is surrounded by plates of various dishes. In essence, the history of Rijsttafel teaches the atmosphere of eating together in enjoying the diverse food menu of the archipelago (Paviljoen, 2016).

There are several restaurants that still implement this service system including:

1.         Tugu Kunstkring Paleis Menteng

2.         Harum Manis Restaurant Sudirman

3.         Plataran Menteng

4.         Kaum Menteng

5.         Agneya Restaurant Melawai

6.         Oasis Restaurant.

The conclusion is that this cultural heritage must always be preserved because otherwise this service system can just disappear. So, restaurants to hotels in some events can utilize this service system to get more profit from customers, as for customers who do not know it can be a new experience. On the other hand, using this service system can increase popularity among people who want to learn the history of rijsttafel.

References

Makmur, D. S., Khairun, U., & Eropa, B. (2024). Pengaruh budaya eropa terhadap makanan indonesia. 4(1), 12–20.

Subakti, A. G. (2019). Mengenal Pelayanan Rijsttafel Sebagai Bagian Dari Warisan Kolonial Belanda. Jurnal Sains Terapan Pariwisata2019, 4(2), 193–201.

Wijaya, I. Z., & Rahma, A. (2022). Rijsttafel di Batavia: Kelas Sosial dan Pengaruh Eropa di Meja Makan pada Awal Abad ke-20. Socio Historica: Journal of Islamic Social History, 1(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.15408/sh.v1i1.25310