Bio-data of Yuliana Candra

Started this venture out of passion for food, travel, stories, and writing. I call myself an organic chef, in the sense that my cooking skill and style are not infected by any formalities of culinary institute ordinance. I picked up dishes and recipes that I liked when I traveled across the globe. I recreated those dishes with my own drops of creativity, and voila... something unheard and uneaten before was born.

I was brewed to eat well from my childhood. Since then I have lived and traveled to over 30 countries in every continent, except Antarctica. The potential combination of mixing and matching elements of ethnic cuisines from these places is beyond infinity. When I cook, I don't want to be reminded of what the "proper Stepford wives" way is. When I cook, I want to be lusciously dangerous, inappropriately improper, feverishly flammable, and passionately adventurous.

About My Cooking Style & Philosophy

"The origin and the original cross-cultural cuisine"

I drew my inspirations from social dogmas of cultures with whom I've had an opportunity to interact. I observed whether a communal value runs thick and the cuisine plates or doesn't, whether gender distinction is marked by what dishes and which cuts of chicken served on the table, whether a meal is eaten sitting down or standing up or squatting down. I've been following the spice route on my travel map and I have discovered how much more similar we are across borders than different. I am interested in why a cuisine was created the way it was and I am curious about the purpose of a dish and the history behind it. Was it scarcity of ingredients due to famine? Or was it an accidental creation intended to make something else? I'd like to pass on that knowledge to others I cook for, and by doing that, I hope to pass on my passion as well.

"The health and the healing quality"

Eating tasty food doesn't have to be a cardinal sin and it doesn't have to ruin our body and mind. On the contrary, eating tasty food should complement what we lack of, rejuvenate what we've grown old into, enlighten what we disconcert about, and inspire what we deter from. I'm learning everyday of the amazing healing qualities offered by herbs, spices, edible plants, flowers, fruits, and there they go into my concoctions.

"The safe and the saved"

It feels good to do the right thing. And I want to feel good as often as I can. Buying and using local-grown produce and fair-trade commodity items are two things that can make me feel good. I'm committed to use ingredients that are organic, pesticide-free, non-hormone-injected, and have zilch association with words I can't pronounce. If I care so much about what I put into my body, then I should be equally concerned about what I put into the bodies of other human beings. What we eat should be safe for us and should save the biological ecosystem. Besides not killing each other with a spear or a machine gun, there is another way to be able to coexist in our natural habitat, and that is by not taking over. These are the philosophical foundations I embrace and practice in my cooking. I'd be delighted and ecstatic to have the opportunity to earn your trust and to deliver the most original and unique dishes to your special occasions.

About My Attachment to Events and Social Calendar

"An Eventful Event"

At one point in your adult life, you are going to be given a responsibility to create or to manage an event. And that's how it started for me. The affinity to be resourceful, organized, and creative come naturally to me. When things run smoothly, on schedule, on budget, on target, I feel accomplished. I have been creating and managing events since I was 9. My first event was "Borrow a Book for a Dime Day" where I gathered the neighborhood children and opened up my personal library to earn some money to buy more books. Although after a few weeks I canceled the event because my books were ruined by those rascals, I grew to like the whole process. Since then I have created and managed concerts, fashion shows, performing arts, fundraisers, conferences, trade shows, mixers, parties.

"Improving Social Life"

Admit it, we live in a complex individualized society epitomized by severe social insecurity. We maintain a distance of more than three arm's length from other people. We suspect others as guilty and culpable until proven not although our justice system rules otherwise. We are warm and friendly acquaintances but we are putting up a bulletproof heat-resistant defense mechanism once another human being might have potentially gotten a tad too personal and intimate and wants to get to know us better as another human being. It's hard to get past that and I'm still learning every day. When I moved locales to other countries, I had to adjust my social comprehension in many different dimensions. How to draw the line between an acquaintance and a friend, how far in advance I should call before dropping by, how long I need to know a person before I can start burping in his/her presence. These things are particularly hard because there is no science to it. It's a pure art form and it's acquired through social intelligence. Some say, either you were born with it or you weren't. I believe in the contrary. Social skills can be learned and social life can be improved without being excessive. Creating a social network is important for me. From my network I have found several jobs, a car, a new hobby, a place to live, a wealth of knowledge, many friends, a few annoying people, earned praise, attained criticism, earned respect, lost respect. All in all, it's a fun and enjoyable process that keeps me alive and humane. Currently I run four social groups and two professional groups. You can find the links under "Events" section to learn how I run my groups.