Cla Lisca

Food for life

CLA LISCA NEVER had a hard time figuring out what she wanted to do in life. Ever since she was little, her love for food was strong. Every single morning, she would bring her breakfast plate in front of the TV, and watch Sisca Soewitomo (Indonesia’s legendary home cook)’s cooking show. “Watching her cook made me really happy, and when I grew up I knew food was something I wanted to pursue in life.”

Alas, Lisca’s parents did not think much of her ambitions. They made her go to business school for the sake of future security. “I hated my studies because I knew I wanted to do culinary,” Lisca says. To prove her passion, she cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner every single for three months for her father. “At the end, my father finally let me go to cooking school,” Lisca, who studied at Nagoya Cooking School, says.

After returning home, Lisca partnered with cousin Hanna Tjhin and her friend Dolly Chia, who had just started an F&B business. Under the name Edesia Group, the three manage Wilshire and Third Avenue in Senopati, Bottega Ristorante and Dirty Laundry in SCBD and Rock Paper Scissors in Mega Kuningan. Each year, they aim to open at least one new venue. “Our group believes in places with good ambiance, and comfort food that has good value for the money,” Lisca, who mostly handles the kitchen and staff training in all the venues, says.

When she is not monitoring one of the restaurants, Lisca enjoys going around new eateries to keep up with the city’s culinary trends. “I keep exploring, and I keep myself inspired in the hope of maintaining my edge as a restaurateur.”