Popular 'Aroma' offers tasty and simply prepared food

JAKARTA (JP): Badminton player Ricky Subagja and his lovely wife Elsa Manora, a national swimmer, rushed around the kitchen preparing their lunches to take with them.

This famous sports couple often faces difficulty in making meals because of time constraints. What they want most is delicious and nutritious food that is practical and easy to make. Ricky spends most of his days at the badminton training center, while his wife Elsa works out at the swimming pool.

Then one day, help came. Sisca Soewitomo, a noted cook and host of the popular Aroma cooking program on private television station Indosiar visited the newlyweds at their home and suggested that they make simple, healthy meals to meet their required standard of high energy food with nutritional value.

Ricky and Elsa's favorite is cheese potato combined with stir- fried fish and vegetables. Sisca helped them prepare the meal.

"Oh, that's so easy and delicious," exclaimed Elsa.

One of the goals of the Aroma cooking program is to guide viewers to create various tasty dishes using ingredients available at local markets.

First aired in l995, Aroma has become one of Indosiar's most watched program. Each Tuesday and Saturday at 7 a.m., Sis Cartica Soewitomo or Sisca Soewitomo presents a wide variety of recipes of local and international dishes.

Aroma viewers find it easy to follow its step-by-step process as shown by the host.

Each episode, Sisca displays three to four recipes from main courses to snacks.

The host looks quite professional in presenting her program and explains each step straightforwardly.

There are cooking programs on other TV stations. Many are good, but there are also strange cooking programs with presenters wearing extravagant traditional costumes.

Luckily, Sisca appears in simple attire and light make-up appropriate for a real cook.

Between January 1998 and December 1998, Aroma was chosen as one of the ten brightest programs on television by local tabloid Bintang Indonesia.

If viewers miss an episode, they can always find the recipes published in the tabloid's Sedap cooking column every Saturday.

For Sisca, a culinary expert, cooking is her hobby. She used to eagerly await her mother's various cakes and meals. She developed her love for cooking when she was still at elementary school.

In 1976, Sisca graduated from Trisakti Tourism Academy. She later became a lecturer between 1977 and 1991. To improve her knowledge and skill in cooking, she studied at the China Baking School in Taiwan and the American Institute of Baking in Kansas, United States. She once worked with Femina, a women's magazine.

The mother of three, who was born in 1949, calls herself a cook. She is a prolific writer. She has written several cookbooks including Practical, Easy and Delicious, sponsored by Bimoli cooking oil.

In her spacious kitchen in the Perdatam area of South Jakarta, Sisca is busy creating new and innovative recipes for her Aroma program. While she is cooking, Sisca listens to classical music.

Didien Pranoto, the producer of Aroma, proudly said that viewers warmly welcomed the episodes. The program usually gets a high rating and receives a large number of sponsors.

For those who send their favorite recipes to the program, Aroma awards them with special gifts.

For members of the audience who enjoy cooking and trying new recipes, Aroma is a program worth watching. It also may add to your cooking vocabulary and improve your skills in the kitchen. If you believe in the wise saying that love comes from your kitchen, then let us cook for our loved ones. (Lies Sartika)