13 Facts About Sri Owen

Sri Owen was born on 31 March 1935 and is an Indonesian cooking teacher and food writer, based in London for most of her life.

Sri Owen is the author of the first English-language recipe book dedicated to the food of Indonesia, and is recognised as a leading authority on Indonesian cuisine.

Sri Owen was born to a Minangkabau family, in a town at the heart of that culture.

Sri Owen was the eldest of six children, all girls.

Sri Owen's childhood was disrupted by Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies; during World War II, millions of Indonesians died of famine, forced labour, and the disruption of society.

Sri Owen's parents worked as teachers, and the family lived briefly in Jakarta, before settling in Magelang, Central Java in 1949.

Sri Owen continued her education in Yogyakarta and studied English Literature at Gadjah Mada University.

In 1984, Roger and Sri Owen moved with their two sons to Wimbledon Village, where Sri Owen sold Indonesian dishes and snacks from a shop on the High Street.

Sri Owen went on to write more than a dozen books on the food of Indonesia and other Asian countries.

Sri Owen argues that rendang, recognised by the Indonesian state as one of the five national dishes, is a Minangkabau dish.

Owen's most recent book, Sri Owen's Indonesian Food, is an autobiographical celebration of the cooking of the country of her birth.

Sri Owen has been described by Nikkei Asia as "the Indonesian food writer credited with introducing her country's cuisine to the world".

Sri Owen mentored young chef and writer Lara Lee, who wishes "to share the wonderful cuisine of Indonesia with the world".