From Rijsttafel To Liwetan

About this episode

Diana Widjojo returns to discuss her culinary journey and the evolution of Indonesian dining traditions.

In this Catch-Up episode of The Rice Table, we welcome back Indonesian-American culinary powerhouse Diana Widjojo. Five years after our last conversation, Diana shares her journey from Hardena to Rice & Sambal, where she brings Indonesian dining traditions to modern urban tables. Her Rijsttafel is sometimes offered as a Mini Rijsttafel — a scaled-down, contemporary take on the historical Dutch-Indonesian banquet — while Liwetan emphasizes communal, banana-leaf dining, often eaten by hand,...

People in this episode

Host: Jeff Keasberry

Guest: Diana Widjojo

Topics covered

• Indonesian cuisine
• culinary traditions
• communal dining
• urban dining
• cultural heritage

Keywords

• Indonesian food
• Rijsttafel
• Liwetan
• Diana Widjojo
• culinary traditions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hardena, Rice & Sambal

Books & works: Rijsttafel, Liwetan

More episodes of The Rice Table

• IndoBros: Roots, Rijst, Riboet · May 19, 2026 · 57 min
• The Legacy of Sri Owen - Cook, Writer, Historian · May 12, 2026 · 1h 17m
• Between Empires: The Indo–Anglo Connection · April 22, 2026 · 49 min
• Indo Bros 14 episode in Dutch · April 6, 2026 · 56 min
• Three continents, Two Cultures, One Plate · March 19, 2026 · 51 min
• Indonesian Spice Routes to Paris · March 5, 2026 · 1h 23m