Owner-chef Joannes Riviere collected an award in Singapore on Monday night when his restaurant – Cuisine Wat Damnak – was named the Best Restaurant in Cambodia and at the same time it entered the prestigious Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list at number 50.
Joannes Riviere is a former culinary instructor at Sala Baï hospitality school in Siem Reap and he maintains a close affiliation with the school.
It’s the first time a Cambodian restaurant has been included on this prestigious list. On collecting the award at a gala party at Capella resort on Monday night, Riviere said: “I’m honoured, it’s really a great achievement.”
“It’s going to be great for Siem Reap,” Riviere added. “It definitely puts Siem Reap on the culinary map internationally. It’s good for Siem Reap, but it’s also good for Cambodia.”
Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants is the regional edition of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, which was launched in 2002 by the UK’s Restaurant magazine.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is voted on by members of regional panels and together these form an academy of almost 1,000 industry experts, including chefs, restaurateurs, gourmands and food media.
“There’s no reason why Vietnam and Thailand are culinary destinations and Cambodia is not,” Rivière said. “But it’s always the same: you think about everything you read about Asia …and they never mention Cambodia. It’s like there is a big black hole on the map in Asia.”
“But I think that’s changing,” he added. “Cambodia is definitely worth visiting when it comes to food. We have the products. We have the culinary culture. We have everything people could want. I just think we’re not the best at promoting ourselves here in Cambodia, especially in Siem Reap.”
Rivière originally came to Cambodia in 2003 to volunteer as a cooking instructor at Siem Reap’s Sala Baï i Hotel School before becoming the executive chef at Hotel de la Paix (now the Park Hyatt). He was born in France in a region called Roanne which is known for its cooking and his family were organic vegetable growers who supplied their produce to some of the area’s better restaurants.
Growing up in this environment has obviously influenced Rivière and he now demonstrates an authentic Cambodian cuisine where he focusses on local produce and creates dishes which use traditional Cambodian flavours.
“I’d like to see the award as a message to Cambodian chefs,” Rivière said. “This proves that you don’t have to use imported products like foie gras and so on; that it’s possible to have a world-class restaurant with a menu based on local products.”
“Young Cambodian chefs need to start to pay attention to their grandmother’s cooking and the products around them,” he said. “The government should also support farmers to grow local produce and, in restaurant schools, there should be a Cambodian culinary curriculum controlled by the government. Otherwise, in 20 years’ time it will be lost.”
