Mama’s German Restaurant was founded by Endang Suciati and her husband, Reinhold Jantzen, in 1985, as she played a central role in establishing their then seminal food processing and distribution business.
Today, Reinhold and “Ibu” (Mama) Endang continue to operate an empire that now includes:
- Mama’s German Restaurant – Kuta, Bali
- Das Bistro by Mama’s Restaurant and Concept Store – South Denpasar, Bali
- PT Soejasch Bali – (Established 1985) – Bali, Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Yogyakarta.
- PT Mandala Kriya Utama Food Distributors
- PT Mandala Kriya Semesta Food Distributors
Reinhold Jantzen, born in Hamburg in 1940, moved to Indonesia in 1977, establishing a small food processing business from his home in Bali in the 1980s. During this period, his wife, Endang Suciati, opened Mama’s German Restaurant in Kuta to help make ends meet and help fund the significant expansion of the family business about to take place.
The Jantzen family’s expertise in importing and manufacturing fine meats and food products is much in evidence in the extensive selection of cured, smoked, and processed meats and sausages on the menu of Mama’s German Restaurant. Impossible to sample in a single sitting; guests return time and again to enjoy plates of cured cold cuts, devour succulent pork ribs, savor slow-cooked pork knuckles, and consume the complete array of gourmet-crafted sausages. Produced in a state-of-the-art processing plant and commercial kitchen, PT Soejasch – the meat processing division of the family corporation, holds national and international certifications qualifying their products for global export as sale in leading restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets across Indonesia.
PT Soejasch Food Processing Facilities are the first and only operations of its kind in Indonesia certified with ISO 9001:2000 and Food Safe Plus Certificates, issued by German and Australian Government Health Authorities.
A separate, dedicated facility for Halal food products operates following the strict halal requirements of the Indonesian Government.
Beginning in 1986, Reinhold Jantsen served with distinction as the Honorary Consul-General for the Federal Republic of Germany for 27 years before surrendering the diplomacy reins to his Indonesian-born son, Robert. Robert continues to serve German visitors and residents in Bali while also assisting in managing the family’s business empire.
The Team
With the reopening of Mama’s in Kuta, their cordial traditional Stammtisch gatherings have also been reconvened. This traditional roundtable of conviviality finds German, Indonesian, and English heard at a round table where newcomers quickly become regulars and friends during a single visit.
Among those still on hand to extend a hearty “welcome back” to Mama’s German Restaurant is restaurant manager Riri Fakhriyadi and his hard-working team of some 20 staff. This includes Wayan Dana, serving at Mama’s with a smile since 1992, and Ibu Swami – a member of the kitchen brigade, on duty at the original opening in 1985. Despite closing for two months, Mama’s workers remained actively employed throughout the lockdown, working at affiliate companies operated by the PT Soejasch Group.
Reinhold Jantzen Biography
To learn more about this remarkable company and its founder, take time to read the highly entertaining autobiography of Reinhold Jantzen: “I Did it. . . My Way: My Life Between Hamburg and Bali.”
Jantzen, Reinhold and Andresen, Willi, (2019). I Did it …My Way. Jakarta: After Hours Books.
ISBN: 978-6-026-99042-6