Army Spouse Wins Food Network's Recipe Showdown
Spc. Ashley M. Armstrong - Army News Service
Feb 12, 2009
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii -- After a nationwide recipe showdown Lisa Roman, wife of Capt. Joe Roman, who is a strategic plans officer, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, was chosen as the winner of the ultimate dessert recipe during Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown Feb. 8.
She will be awarded $25,000 and her award-winning recipe, called Babycakes, will be featured in T.G.I Fridays nationwide.
It all began a year ago when her husband was deployed and she had taken up watching television more often than usual, she said.
"I saw a show on the Food Network called Ultimate Recipe Showdown. During the show, at the bottom of the screen, they were asking for new recipes and to log on to the Food Network to enter an original recipe if you had one. So I did. Simple as that," said Lisa.
She then made it through every selection process until she was chosen to be among the four finalists that were flown to New York to be filmed for the show. During the competition the finalists were required to prepare their original recipes on camera and then have their products judged.
Joe accompanied her to New York for support.
"It was nice that he was in the audience supporting me, the tables kind of turned because normally I am at home supporting him so it was great," she said about having her husband there.
She acknowledged her strength as an Army wife as one of the things that got her through the competition.
"I draw on the strength of being an Army wife in this competition because I know that there are definitely worse things and harder circumstances in the world than being in this competition and I've been through those things," she said. "Being an Army wife is like being in a special club. It comes with responsibility and an understanding that a non-Army wife wouldn't understand, especially if you've been through a deployment or stood by your husband at a funeral."
She has been married for a little over a year. Six weeks into their marriage, Joe deployed to Iraq. Now she is looking forward to celebrating the prize money with her husband.
"I am a newly-wed so $25,000 is a great way to start off a new marriage and having something on the menu at a restaurant is quite an honor," she said.
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Copyright 2009 by Army News Service
