From a bowl of bubur ayam to the story of Makassan sailors, engaged couple Kris Redden and Ruby Healey shed light on the stories of Melbourne's Indonesian diaspora through their newly released book.
Kris Redden remembers vividly the first time he ate bubur ayam in Australia. Every memory from his childhood in Jakarta came rushing back.
The Indonesian-Australian moved from Jakarta to a small town of just 600 people in Australia around 15 years ago. After years of living away from home, it was his longing for Indonesia that made him realise just how powerful a role food plays in the lives of the Indonesian diaspora.
Together with his fiancée, Ruby Healey, Redden documented the stories of nine Indonesian families in Victoria in Merantau: Stories of Indonesian Food and Migration, which has just been released. Behind every recipe lies a story of identity, longing and togetherness in a foreign land.
Among the stories that left the deepest impression on him is that of Mama Nining, one of the founders of Sanggar Lestari. When she first arrived in Australia with no mosque nearby, she chose to attend an Indonesian-language church simply to be among her community and share a home-cooked meal.
Redden also highlights a little-known chapter of history: the relationship between Makassan sailors and the Yolngu people, long before colonisation, in which an exchange of cultures took place around the same cooking fire.
For Healey, who grew up in Adelaide with little exposure to Indonesian food, her involvement in the project stemmed from gratitude for the warmth she had experienced within Melbourne's Indonesian diaspora community over many years. To her, food is a love language that needs no translation.
Listen to the full SBS Indonesian interview with Kris Redden and Ruby Healey to hear more of their story.
