Rotanak Ros, known today as Chef Nak, spent most of her professional career unearthing forgotten culinary treasures of royal Cambodian recipes. Intending to restore almost a century of the lost historical identity of Cambodia, she reintroduces them to the modern world through her latest Cookbook creation, Saoy: Royal Cambodian Home Cuisine.
Giving up her previous nongovernment organization, Chef Nak decided to explore the country, carrying only her dedication and passion for traditional cooking and authentic royal Cambodian recipes. She started recording infamous recipes that had stood the test of time and made a mark in the localities of Cambodia.
Meet the kitchen guru of royal Cambodian recipes
Currently, Rotanak Ros spontaneously became the pioneer chef superstar of Cambodia and is widely known for her extraordinary contribution to the cultural identity of her country. Her culinary works also inspired the modern-day populace to appreciate the beauty of the past despite the historical tragedies and pain their country might have had.
The Nhum: Recipes from a Cambodian Kitchen became her first traditional recipe book in 2019. She put considerable effort into finding and recording recipes from all corners of Cambodia to establish her masterpiece. The collection includes sophisticated varieties of cooking, which, bit by bit, capture both urban and countryside-dedicated cuisine.
Because of Nhum’s sudden popularity, she published another book, Saoy: Royal Cambodian Home Cuisine. Her latest collection focused more on the royal cooking in the Royal Palace of Cambodia, opposite her first book, which emphasized home cuisines.
Chef Nak’s inspiration for creating her time capsule
Her dedication to art cuisines and her advocacy for nurturing the essence of women were some of her inspirations in crafting her remarkable book. As a local kitchen artist, Chef Nak dreamed of narrating her story in the art of cooking through local Cambodian food. She wanted to redefine Cambodian cuisine by capturing historical and traditional culinary works carved from the past.
The compassion for one another interpreted in each cooking by royalties and common people reflected in the books motivate people even more. Even the country’s darkest nor enlightened days were captured in her kitchen narrations. This way of retelling history in a cookbook differs notably from any other history textbook.
Through her cookbook, important kitchen traditions can also be preserved, which can be used by future generations. Her inspiration, which materialized in the culinary publications she made, also brought hope and a new vision for her patrons. Also, such selfless acts for the country motivated many to look back and value Cambodia’s past to redefine the country’s new image today.
In addition, her second book also empowered the iconic Princess Rasmi Sobbhana, who was also known for women’s advocacy. The Princess was said to help women gain education when Cambodia was still at the peak of revolution and war. Such kindness brought by Princess Rasmi moved the modern-day chef to dedicate her kitchen artwork to her.
Flavors of the past
Chef Nak’s cookbooks generally reflect the common, the old, and the unknown culture from the past. She captures the details of historical cooking, starting from the unique ingredients, historical tableware, rustic style and set up in the food preparation, and others.
Also, Chef Nak interpreted royal Cambodian recipes as a tradition of food choices, preparations, and overall dietary service. The exceptional culinary activities of Cambodians are also portrayed in the grand collection. The chef also hopes that people can gain a deeper glance at her country through the published books she made.
Each collection of culinary knowledge and practices of Cambodian cuisines can give every spectator a personal view of the country’s unique attributes. This includes different angles of experiences and perspectives of time, which are considered lost and forgotten in today’s century.
Timeless tradition in a book
Chef Nak believes that through her books, people, particularly Cambodians, can easily recognize the origin of their taste choices. The contribution of these books, both in the history and cultural image of the country, is timely for aspiring chefs and timeless for people’s reminiscence.
To specify, the books also retell the usage of many traditional spices, such as certain types of flowers, which have limited use in modern-day cooking. She was surprised to discover her living legacy’s details. The pages also include very detailed cooking procedures emphasizing the delicacy of royal families in the past.
Historical tastebuds in the modern era
Chef Nak’s nationalistic view also shares another perspective for many people to see the evolution of Cambodia in terms of dietary patterns, taste choices, and many others. These patterns can also give a sense of understanding to the country’s locals to know the reason behind each food preparation.
Chef Nak interconnected the current status of Cambodia’s cuisines to the historical food definition of the place. Through this, the culinary books she made delicately define the experiences in the hands of various influences that tailored a mixture of food delicacies. Some influences in the country’s food evolution include French and British flavors.
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