‘I want to see school children having meals every morning. I am very happy to cook for them.’
From the school kitchen to the stage — Cambodia’s school cooks compete and share their passion for helping others
For the last three years, Keo Roth’s days have started at 4 am. She wakes up in the dark, travels to her local school and starts cooking breakfast for hundreds of students. She works quickly to prepare what is for many students their main meal of the day.
And she’s not alone. Each day, 3,000 school cooks perform the same ritual. They are all volunteers and share a common passion for cooking delicious meals, using local ingredients and ensuring that children across the country start the day with a warm and healthy meal.
But today isn’t a normal day. Keo Roth is ready to chop, boil, season and create an award winning meal in a cooking competition run by the World Food Programme and Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS).
‘‘I am very excited to attend this competition. There are many cooks from other schools,’’ she says.
Ready to compete
With green leafy vegetables, yellow pumpkin, gourd and other ingredients on her cooking table, Keo Roth and the 149 school cooks are ready. She plans to make a special Khmer vegetable soup (Samlor Prohae Bok Kroeung) for the competition. She and other candidates have 60 minutes to cook their dishes.
While boiling water, she grinds kaffir lime leaves, turmeric root, lemongrass stalks, garlic and galangal into a paste with her wooden mortar and pestle. These ingredients spring up the authentic aroma of Cambodian cuisine, especially when they are cooked with Prohok (a typical Cambodian fermented fish paste). The ingredients that she’s cooking with today are similar to those that she uses each day at school.
‘‘Hygiene, preparation process, appearance and taste are the main four scoring criteria for judgment,’’ says Slat Chenda, an official from the MoEYS.
This is the fourth year that Slat Chenda and her team have worked with WFP to organize the cooking competition. Every year, WFP and the MoEYS choose a province where the School Meal Programme is implemented to host the competition.
This year, it was Odor Meanchey province’s turn to join the competition. Judges include members from the MoEYS and local authorities from District and Commune levels. The top three winning cooks from each district will be selected to attend the final competition at the provincial level.
“We organize the competition to promote the cooking talents of local cooks participating in the School Meal Programme. We provide a briefing to all participating cooks and school principals prior to the competition day. During the briefing, cooks also have an opportunity to get to know each other and share their experiences,’’ Slat Chenda explains.
After 50 minutes of food preparation, the cooks have 10 minutes left to finish their meals. It is time now for Keo Roth to take her ground pastes and add them to the boiling water with cooked fish and other ingredients.
‘‘One key rule I would like to highlight is that you are not allowed to use any artificial flavor in your food,’’ Slat Chenda reminds the cooks.
Before handing over her dish, Keo Roth carves a big red chilly into a flower shape to place on the top of her soup as decoration. Her work is done. Now it is up to the judges to decide.
Celebrating school cooks
‘‘We will award certificates of recognition to all participating cooks and medals to the top three winning cooks at the district level,” Slat Chenda announces.
“The certificate of recognition means a lot to all cooks. It also reminds us of their kind contribution to our schoolchildren,” she adds.
It is time to announce the winners. Keo Roth’s dish receives the first prize.
“I can now proudly say that the blessing that I received from the schoolchildren and their parents at the school I am working for has come true. Thank you everyone especially those from my school,’’ she says, as she proudly holds up her winning medal and a certification of recognition.
She has volunteered at the Ro Lum Tbal primary school for the last three years. She is passionate about helping her community, especially the most vulnerable.
“I want to see school children having meals every morning. I am very happy to cook for them. I want to help by cooking for them, because most of them are from poor families.”
Ploch Tou, a 67-year-old cook and one of the few male cooks attending the competition did not win the top prize but says: “I decided to be a cook because I could see that the meals programme can reduce poverty in my village. Also, it motivates children to go to school, because they have a meal there. That’s why I keep supporting the programme. I’m getting older now, and I’m not sure how long I can help. But if I can still cook, I’ll continue to help.”
On the front-line of fighting hunger
School cooks have provided tremendous support to the School Meals Progamme. For many students, the meal they eat at school is their main, and sometimes only meal of the day.
But these are more than just meals. After eating breakfast, students have the energy they need to concentrate in class. They also act as a powerful incentive for children to keep attending school. All of this is made possible by the dedicated work of 3,000 cooks.
To encourage sustainability of the programme, WFP has advocated for school cooks’ incentives from the Government, the community, local authorities and other stakeholders. The cooking competition is an opportunity for WFP, the Government and the community to work together and recognise the invaluable contribution that these cooks make.
“I decided to help my community,” says Theng Mol. “As long as there is still a school meals programme, I’ll keep cooking for children.”
Story written by Ratanak Leng
