Meet chef Joannès Rivière, the Frenchman putting the spotlight on Cambodia’s cuisine

Though Siem Reap’s Cuisine Wat Damnak was the first Cambodian restaurant to enter the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2015, rising to No.43 in 2016, it wasn’t until last month that, for the first time, a Cambodian acknowledged its position on the list. “This is how it works. The food scene is small in Cambodia so we keep a low profile,” says chef-patron Joannès Rivière.