The juicy and flavourful taste of the spiced rubbed grilled pork medallion at the Village Phnom Penh made me reminisce about the advertising slogan in the US: “Pork, the other white meat”. Intended to tell US consumers that pork is a healthy and nutritious meat, the promotional tagline was ranked the fifth most memorable slogan in the history of contemporary advertising. A report by the US Department of Agriculture in 2006 stated that cuts of fresh pork are leaner these days; 16 per cent lower in total fat and 27 per cent lower in saturated fat.

The Center for Development Service in 2008 reported that piglet is produced at three different levels: farmer producer, local trade and commercial farm. At farmer producer level, most of the piglets have been vaccinated before selling to the producers, because most received training from NGOs and government. At the local trade level, not all the piglets are vaccinated. The commercial farm level produces piglets with high technology, breed them with treatment and care, and the cost is a lot more than the other two levels.

The Village Phnom Penh opened in January this year and received positive feedback. The reviews have been below its expectations. Known as a venue for live music and entertainment, the Village’s management team wanted to revamp the place as a high-quality restaurant.

Phillip Tay, managing partner of the Village, hired Amy Chiv, director of DNAK Trading Company to implement the action plan. DNAK specialises in operating specialty grocery market, café, restaurant and serviced office and their mission is to bring the best practices as well as taste to the Cambodian restaurant scene.

“We need to ensure our staffs are well taken care of, by receiving trainings to provide good food and services to our customers,” stated Tay. They will also introduce a new menu.

After understanding Tay’s perspective of the Village’s patron and also his fine preference in food, Chiv assigned international chefs to help train the current kitchen staff at the Village. “Our chefs like Chef Leon Lazaroo together with our Japanese sous chefs and our New Zealand chef went ahead to recommend new dishes that match the look, smell and taste for the Village,” said Chiv.

The Village will only be using Cambodian pork. “We chose Digby’s Butchery, which uses only Cambodian pork. Cambodian pork from Cambodian farmers is the best because it taste sweet, tender, juicy,” said Chiv.