Indraswari Amerta Ricard: Bringing our beloved tempeh to Paris

Where others see problems, entrepreneurs see opportunities. This adage certainly holds true for Indraswari Amerta Ricard, a shrewd business woman who supplies Indonesians expatriated to Paris with their favorite specialty, tempeh.
Being a member of the Indonesian community in Paris, the 38-year-old Indraswari quickly realized the 3,000 Indonesians living in the greater area of Paris missed their dearly loved soy bean cake, tempeh, despite living in one of the world’s meccas of fine food.
“Quite a few Indonesian women are fed up making bad tempeh too,” she said, while cooking her own in her small apartment in the outskirts of Paris. Born with an entrepreneurial spirit, Indras, as she is popularly called among Indonesian circles, wasted no time at trying her hand at making tempeh. Since early 2010, her tempeh products wrapped in plastic and measuring 23 by 15 centimeters have been selling like hot cakes.
“I deliver 12 blocks of tempeh twice a week at the Indonesian embassy cafeteria,” she said. “They are always sold out and I often have to rush back with more supplies in the evening whenever there is an urgent demand.

Read more (article by Retno Djojo)..