On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Sinuon Seng and Sievlinh Orn, respectively Prep Cook and Commis at Khéma Angkor, have crafted a special three-course menu that is simple, fresh and delicious, but with a touch of decadence in the rich flavours of prawns, beef tenderloin and white chocolate mousse. Before enjoying it, discover their experiences and messages for Women’s Day.

“My name is Sinuon SENG. I am 30 years old and I have been working as a Prep Cook with Khéma Angkor since the day it opened. Before that, I worked for three years as a Commis Chef at Malis, and had never worked with Western foods. I have enjoyed this opportunity to learn so much more about them.”

I come from Svay Thom, just a few kilometres away from Siem Reap City. My parents are farmers and we didn’t have much when I was growing up. After graduating from high school, I hoped to study accounting, but the pressure to find work quickly made thinking of taking a four-year course impossible.

Then my cousin suggested that I look at learning kitchen skills at Paul Dubrule and train to become a chef. She knew I would be able to find a job as soon as I graduated, as she had also studied cooking. Now she is in France after she got a scholarship to continue her studies there. She has been living and working there for almost ten years now.

However, although I applied to the cookery programme, I was instead enrolled with the bakery section at Paul Dubrule. I gave it my best though and graduated in 2012. Afterwards, I spent a year making breads and danishes at one of Siem Reap’s most well-regarded hotels. But I still wanted to learn more about cooking, so in 2015 a friend helped me to get sponsorship so that I could study some more. I went back to Paul Dubrule, and that is how I got to where I am today!

For International Women’s Day, I created a menu that is simple, fresh and delicious, but with a touch of decadence in the rich flavours of prawns and beef tenderloin. We deserve to be spoiled after all.

The starter is a Prawn, Avocado and Quinoa Salad which is fresh, healthy and packed with nutrition. Avocado is wonderful for your skin, while quinoa is high in proteins and fibre that help keep your body strong. On the other hand, prawns contain high levels of zinc which is important for developing a healthy immune system. Plus, they taste amazing! I felt this was a perfect dish for women who are busy but want to look after themselves too.

For the main course, I chose Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce and Sautéed Asparagus and Potatoes. It is a simple dish, but one that will always be appreciated by meat lovers, and it is packed full of energy and protein to keep any woman going no matter how busy she is. I crafted this dish based on my memories of studying cooking as we learned a lot about sauces and dressings, but I have played around with the flavours to create a slightly different taste from the ones in the books. Naturally, presentation is important and I have paid careful attention to plating so that people can eat with their eyes before they even take their first bite.

On International Women’s Day, I would like to encourage all women to learn more about different types of cooking but more than that, I hope that they too can follow their dreams.”

“Hello, my name is Orn Sievlinh and I am 25 years old. I joined Khéma Angkor bakery team 2018, just after the restaurant had opened and I had graduated from Paul Dubrule. I had majored in bakery and pastry section, and this was my first real job.

I come from Prey Chruk, around 40 kilometres from Siem Reap. Although its quite far from home, I knew I wanted to come to Siem Reap to study to become a Pastry Chef after my sister’s friend told me about her experience at Sala Baï (another hospitality school).

My parents are farmers, and my future wasn’t very sure, but thanks to the moral and financial support they gave me, I was able to enrol at Paul Dubrule and, to all our delight, I found a job as soon as I graduated. To tell you the truth, I had never been so far from my family before and I still miss them a lot every day.

I love being a pastry chef and am passionate about my work. Since starting with Khéma, I have learned all about our delicious pastries under the guidance of our inspiring and talented Pastry Chef. Next, I want to learn how to create beautiful cakes that taste as incredible as they look. But I also hope that I will have the opportunity to learn more from international pastry chefs to help me improve my skills and discover inspirations.

For International Women’s Day this year, I crafted a white chocolate and raspberry tart. It is made with a dark chocolate crispy dough filled with a white chocolate mousse and topped with raspberry cream. I like simple desserts that are not too sweet, so the mix of the dark chocolate biscuit with white chocolate mousse is a good balance. Fruit is refreshing and good for your health, so I wanted to add a touch of berries into the dessert, which also have a delicious tang.

In honour of this day, I would like to encourage all women to be open-minded with other cultures and to try to learn more than what is right in front of them. There are so many inspiring chefs and recipes to know from all over the world. It is only up to us to find them.”