Sri Owen
A Tribute to Sri Owen by Petty Elliot
Last weekend, I received the sad news that Sri Owen, the doyen of Indonesian food in the UK, had passed away. Sri was a pioneer in writing about Indonesian cuisine, beginning in 1976. She also wrote about Southeast Asian cuisines, publishing a total of eight books. She was at the forefront of promoting Indonesian food – especially ‘beef rendang’ with her grandmother recipe – in the UK and beyond: a true trailblazer and cultural ambassador.
Sri was a kindred spirit whose love for food and storytelling mirrored my own. As fellow food writers, both born in Indonesia, we shared many similarities.
Although Sri was born in 1935—thirty-four years earlier than me, in a different era—our connection was strong. She was born in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra, the home of rendang, while I was born in Manado, North Sulawesi—places with completely different cultures, languages, and cuisines. Yet we both grew up on the island of Java.
I knew Sri Owen for only ten years, yet our connection felt timeless. I interviewed her in 2015 for my column in one of Jakarta’s leading magazines, where I was a contributor while I was still living in Jakarta. When I moved to England in 2018, she welcomed me with warmth and generosity, introducing me to friends and communities such as The Guild of Food Writers and The Oxford Food Symposium. It was wonderful that both of us received the Ambassadors’ 75 Awards—an honour from the UK Ambassador to Indonesia and the Indonesian Ambassador to the UK—celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations, in recognition of our exceptional contribution to strengthening and deepening the UK–Indonesia relationship in January this year.
Sri loved Indonesia deeply—not only its food, but also its textiles, arts, and the joy of travelling across the archipelago. Her words always carried warmth, depth, and honesty. She reminded us that food is never just about eating—it’s about people, memories, connection, and belonging.
It’s extraordinary that she began giving cookery demonstrations in the 1970s and hosted many in her own kitchen when she had a shop in Wimbledon. She also demonstrated at numerous venues in London, including the Commonwealth Institute, Le Petit Théâtre de la Cuisine, the Cordon Bleu School, and Prue Leith’s School of Wine and Food. In Ireland, she taught at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, and later in Australia and the United States.
We shared the same ambition as cookery writers—to make Indonesian food more widely known and to remind the world of the Spice Islands, the home of nutmeg and cloves, which played such an important role in shaping global cuisine.
Her legacy lives on—in her writing, in the communities she touched, and in every meal that connects us to something larger than ourselves.
Rest in peace, my dear Ibu Sri.
May your next journey be filled with light and may every flavour you loved follow you there.
Petty x
