Mr Sokoun Chanpreda, Managing Director of Hospitality Management and Development Asia (HMD Asia) and owner of Shinta Mani Hotels, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Patricia Yeo as Corporate Chef.
Patricia will be responsible for overseeing strategic planning and implementation of all culinary matters for the three existing Shinta Mani properties in Siem Reap as well as the highly anticipated Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild, a luxury tented camp opening in the South Cardamom National Park wilderness on 01 November 2018.
In addition, she will assume the role of Executive Chef at Shinta Mani’s first managed property, Treeline Urban Resort in Siem Reap, with 48 keys opening in November 2018.
Malaysian born Patricia has three decades of global culinary experience as an acclaimed restaurateur and Chef and brings an international palette and considerable skills to her new role. She has been recognised for her unique cuisine ever since her first restaurant, AZ, opened in New York in 1999. By melding elements of an international upbringing that took her from Malaysia to England to the United States with a precision that she honed as a trained scientist, she has created an innovative, elegant cuisine.
It was not originally Patricia’s intention to be a Chef. After excelling in science at boarding school in Cambridge, England, she was on her way to completing a biochemistry degree at Princeton University. During a break between semesters, she enrolled in a cooking class at the New York Restaurant School. Yeo was exhilarated by the new ingredients and culinary techniques she was learning and was thrilled that food chemistry yielded immediate results. Inspired, she turned in her lab coat for Chefs whites.
In 2009 after 10 years of operating her own successful restaurants in New York and Boston, Patricia accepted the role of Culinary Director for the Big Bowl Division of Lettuce Entertain You.
“It was at Big Bowl I learned how vital systems and structure are to the operation of multiple, high volume units in different parts of the country. Watching it executed with almost military precision at Big Bowl was impressive”, says Patricia.
Taking this new understanding, she applied it to all the new projects she undertook for Lettuce Entertain You, then onto 50 Eggs in Miami and finally at Marcus Samuelsson Group (MSG) in New York City. At MSG she oversaw daily operations of multiple restaurants while being heavily involved in the development of new restaurant concepts in Washington DC and London; from kitchen design and flow, menu and recipe development to staff selection and procurement.
Patricia is a published author with three cookbooks and numerous magazine articles under her belt as well as appearing on various USA morning shows, Iron Chef America and Top Chef Masters.
In February 2016 Patricia moved to Oman as Executive Chef at Six Senses Zighy Bay. Prior to joining Shinta Mani Hotels, she was Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Director at Avani Luang Prabang in Laos.
In sharing her philosophy and vision Patricia’s passion is clear.
“Like every young chef I began my career wanting to create a culinary mecca and be as avant garde as possible. Today my goals and visions are the polar opposite. I am no longer interested in the latest idea, innovation or food combination. Instead I am interested in promoting sustainability and biodiversity in our food chain and culture. This is why Shinta Mani is so wonderful. With the Shinta Mani Foundation and the farm we are trying to grow fast disappearing fruit trees and we are going to start a permaculture farm at Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild. We continue to support local foragers, farmers and fishermen. In the kitchen we have the opportunity to introduce Khmer food to the world through Kroya Restaurant in Siem Reap. I hope to start a Slow Food Community in Cambodia, the first in the country where we can start collecting recipes, seeds and stories to promote Khmer cuisine before it is smothered by more pervasive cultures. We will start growing the next generation of Khmer chefs who will continue to cook the foods of their grandmothers”.
