Chef and DJ Rahel Stephanie’s intrepid, touring nature

When creative pursuits yield tangible, tactile things, we associate them with physical spaces. Makers in workshops, chefs in restaurants. But for Rahel Stephanie, founder of the Indonesian supper club Spoons, the question of ‘when are you opening a restaurant?’ is always met with a resounding ‘no’.

"I’m really enjoying the flexibility in what I do,” she tell us, “as you say, that intrepid touring nature.”

It’s this roving sensibility that has taken Rahel from her home city of Jakarta to London, where she shares stories of her culture through food and music. By not placing Spoons – wildly popular, wildly delicious – in a fixed location, Rahel creates not only flexibility but also intrigue; her supper clubs sell out quickly and people are always hungry for the next one.

By design, her creativity is inherently fluid. She’ll rustle up a feast for fifty people one night, and the next day curate records for a set where she showcases under-the-radar Indonesian artists. Her mission to champion authentic Indonesian culture is done in kaleidoscopic ways, igniting the senses through taste, sight and sound.

It cannot be ignored that Rahel Stephanie is someone who spins many plates.

And in a world where success is often filtered through the lens of specificity, tradition and end-goals, Rahel commits the radical act of existing outside the lines. Going down the non-linear path, retaining her agency and freedom to change or adapt, and allowing her creativity to grow in different directions (just ask her Instagram moniker, Linda From Accounting).

We were excited to sit down with Rahel and talk about connecting people to the material world, significant spaces, and the vastness of Indonesian culture.

We love that you make your interests accessible; it empowers people to feel like they can give it a try and experience something new. We do the same when designing things, exposing the process. Do you think these are effective methods for encouraging people to feel more connected to the culinary and material world?

Yeah, definitely, I'm able to reconnect and further explorations of my culture and my heritage and develop a strong relationship with my roots through mediums I'm truly passionate about. And I think not only do other Indonesians resonate with this, but other people from other cultures; specifically those from the diaspora can resonate with that, and seem to connect with my practice and how I go about it. 

We love your Mixes, Radio shows and discovering Indonesian artists; what ties together all of the tracks and artists you feature? To us there’s a really nostalgic element - is that common in the Indonesian music scene? Or is this more about your own taste in music? 

Maybe it has to do with my taste and the kinds of Indonesian music out there along with its scenes. I guess it's just endless. It's diverse. It's as diverse as the country itself. And with everything I do, be it music mixes, or the menus that I serve up, I always try my best to, you know, show that wide array of culture to reflect the diversity in the vastness that is Indonesia (it's made out of 20,000 different islands over 300 different ethnicities). So that diversity and that expansiveness is clearly reflected in its arts, its cultures, its music and its food.

How would you describe creativity in a city like Jakarta? And how does it compare to somewhere like London?

Both London and Jakarta are capital cities with capitalist influences. I would say that mainstream Jakarta and London showcase a lot of creativity which is heavily influenced by trends and commercialism. And yet amidst this, a place like Jakarta nurtures really exciting talents stemming from diverse cultural inspirations that result in a dynamic and unique creative atmosphere, which makes it so unique. And I guess the same way London's creativity draws inspiration from the diversity in existing cultures and people who were here, it births something really exciting. And I guess that's just a nod to embracing that very diversity that exists in the spaces around you. 

Do you dream of a fixed location for Sp00ns or do you believe that its intrepid, touring nature reflects something meaningful to you?

People keep asking me if I want to open a restaurant! And honestly, it's always a hard no for me; it's always a hard no for bricks and mortars, at least for the time being. I’m really enjoying the flexibility in what I do – as you say, that intrepid touring nature. And what I do is quite a lot of different things – I don't just have one set traditional occupation; I'm not just a chef, I'm not just a writer, I'm not just this or that. And this is really what keeps it exciting for me. I love traveling for work, especially back home, and running a bricks and mortar space – at least in the traditional sense – would restrict me from doing so. That traveling and touring aspect is something that's really important to what I do for myself, personally, at least. And I hope to continue to do more of it. 

You can be a chef, a DJ and a community builder all at once, with each activity supporting the other. Do you feel that you are less concerned with defining what someone does and more interested in the vision they are presenting as a whole?

Absolutely. At the end of the day, everything I do ties down to the same mission and goal of raising awareness and pushing for authentic Indonesian culture, and reclaiming things that have been appropriated, especially in the West. I love that there are so many ways that you can actively do that, and I feel like this can be applied to a lot of different missions and goals that people may have. I respect that a lot in what a person does as opposed to defining what they do in the more traditional sense. 

Is there a significant space or object that holds a particularly special meaning for you?

My most significant space lies in the concept of home. Although I guess for me home itself is inseparable from the people who fill it with meaning. Especially because I've moved around quite a bit my whole life. The traditional notion of a fixed childhood home isn't necessarily part of that narrative. Like my childhood home, for example, doesn't exactly exist. So instead, home to me is you know, somewhere where there is a heartfelt connection with people I hold dear, be it my family or my chosen families, and the sense of belonging, the sense of community transcends geographical borders and physical space, making every place whether here or Indonesia, potential home filled with love for me.

Where did your Instagram moniker Linda From Accounting come from? 

Honestly, it's just a joke that went too far! I think it must have been eight or nine years ago where I was trying to come up with the most boring character I could think of with my friend. So I changed my Instagram handle to Linda from accounting and it's just stuck around since then. I can't really get rid of it because it's my hashtag brand (oh god I’m just kidding). 

Middle portraits of Rahel by Sharon Angelia.