A collection of more than 50 recipes from 15 countries has been released as a joint project by students from Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School and Sala Bai Hotel School in Cambodia.
The cookbook, which features entrees, main courses and desserts including Filipino beef stew, Indonesian savoury pancake, salmon fillet with ramen noodles, Vietnamese sticky rice ball, Italian chocolate ricotta cake, French leek tart and many more. Each dish features comprehensive ingredient lists, cooking methods and summaries which outline the origin of the dish and which student provided the recipe.
The chief architect behind the project is Japanese BMIHMS student, Nao Ogura, who is in her final year of her Bachelor of Business, International Hotel and Resort Management. Ogura said a major inspiration behind the project was the long separation from family and friends due to the pandemic and an opportunity to bring the student community together again.
“For those of us students who live far from family, home cooking makes people feel like they are home,” she said.
“When I thought that I would like to create something to celebrate our cultural diversity on campus, I started this cookbook project.”
In compiling the book, Ogura made contact with nearly 100 staff and students from across BMIHMS and received 42 responses, saying she believes the recipes and food interests would be a great way for students to learn more about each other.
“BMIHMS is so culturally diverse, creating a cookbook with recipes that are close to the students’ and staffs’ hearts was a great way to enhance the connection and understanding between cultures,” Ogura said.
“The completed cookbook shows our cultural diversity, and it’s great to see the background story of recipes.”
The cookbook can be downloaded via the BMIHMS student hub website, where donations to Sala Bai can also be made to help continue providing hospitality training to people in poverty-stricken regions of Cambodia.