Sala Baï, the flagship program of APLC set up in 2002, has just celebrated its 15thanniversary. An anniversary celebrated in style in Siem Reap at the magnificent Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Resort around a dinner created by no less than five exceptional chefs on the Asian culinary scene: Joannes Rivière, former Sala Baï cooking teacher and chef at the gourmet restaurant Cuisine Wat Damnak, ranked among the 50 top restaurants in Asia; David Thompson, chef at Nahm in Bangkok, also ranked among the 50 best restaurants in Asia; Sandro Falbo, chef at the 5-star Fullerton in Singapore; Kimsan Sok, former Sala Baï student and chef at the gourmet restaurant The Embassy in Siem Reap; and Sopheap Un, pastry chef at the Sofitel Phokeethra in Phnom Penh.
A top flight menu which highlighted the subtle flavours of South-East Asian cooking, produced and served jointly by the Sala Baï students and the Sofitel teams, to the delight of the 156 guests.
This dinner also helped to raise funds for the school through a raffle and an auction of exceptional prizes such as dinners and nights in prestigious hotels in Asia or artworks and fashion items, donated by the many partners and friends of Sala Baï. A team effort which resulted in the resounding success of this evening which raised enough funds to train six students in 2017-2018, acknowledging 15 years of fighting poverty through vocational training.
Since 2002, over 1,400 young Cambodians, 70% of whom are girls, have already been trained and found stable, properly paid work in the hotel industry. In less than two months, 108 new graduates will in their turn be launched into active life, looking towards a better future! And during this evening in which excellence was the name of the game, they proved to the world that they are ready!