Popular 'Aroma' offers tasty and simply prepared food

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)