Determined and dedicated in their own fields to the support and promotion of indigenous culture Will and David recognised during a recent trip to the far North West of Vietnam that between them they could create experiences that allowed for more than a visual introduction to the deeply rooted, essential communities that form the basis for the true meaning of society. As Will explained the continued existence of communities that lie beyond the reach of ‘modern living’ are vital to the survival of all cultures and globally, while under threat from all kinds of pressure including here in Indonesia the proliferation of Palm Oil plantations, there is a growing awareness of the urgency with which sustainable support of and authentic connections to indigenous cultures need to be promoted and preserved.

“When I first brought the concept of Asian Street Food into the fine dining scene I did it, not because the food was great, although it is, but because I wanted to tell the stories of the cuisine culture. Asian Street food has always been about the migratory stories, the tribal stories, the journeys that took place from the great explorations of the Silk Routes, land and sea, and the journeys of colonial powers and their slaves. Communities arriving in strange places created food for themselves that reflected their origins, and eventually, as we see so clearly across Indonesia, the blending of cuisine cultures creates a fusion. From the Tamils of Medan to the Afghans of Denpasar, the Chinese diaspora and the Portuguese brought Africans food of the “homelands” infiltrated and adapted to their new environments. And, when a modern economic model, including ‘Transmigrasi’, imposed itself on the indigenous of Indonesia, the Batak, the Dayak, the Sasak and the Madurese, and drew them into cities and townships their food soon followed. So here you have in the streets of the cities the genesis of an indigenous food culture, but sadly now many of these cultures at their roots are facing an extinction moment of their own”.