Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) will deploy 5,000 professional chefs to various Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) across Indonesia starting on Monday, October 13, 2025. The chefs, who are members of the Indonesian Chef Association (ICA), will mentor and train cooks in the free nutritious meal (MBG) program kitchens to ensure the food meets nutritional standards, with proper hygiene.

"These highly professional chefs will be deployed to various regions in Indonesia starting Monday, October 13," said BGN Head, Dadan Hindayana, in an official statement on Friday, October 10, 2025.

This initiative, he said, is the result of the BGN meeting with the association on September 8. BGN considers this partnership crucial following several food poisoning incidents during the implementation of the MBG program.

Chair of ICA, Chef Susanto, said the chefs will provide direct training and mentoring to the kitchen managers of SPPG across Indonesia. ICA also plans to conduct certification to ensure professional standards and food safety are met.

"Through solid collaboration, ICA hopes to play an active role as a strategic partner and a real, sustainable solution," said Susanto.

According to him, ICA does not believe complete halt of the free nutritious meal program as a viable solution to the problems at hand. Instead, the organization opts to help strengthen the program implementation.

Dadan welcomed the initiative, referring to ICA's involvement as a tangible support for the success of Prabowo administration's flagship program.

As of October 7, 2025, BGN has recorded the establishment of 10,765 operational MBG kitckens throughout Indonesia. These units are at the forefront of implementing the free nutritious meal program in schools.

As an organization of professional chefs with a nationwide network, ICA will be a strategic partner in improving human resources capacity in MBG kitchens. The organization consists of experienced chefs with national and international certification, who are accustomed to managing kitchens with specific standards.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2056007/indonesia-to-deploy-5000-professional-chefs-to-train-mbg-cook