Taste the Real Phnom Penh!
Our Founder
Vanarith was born in the Cambodian jungle, not far from Phnom Penh, around the end of the Cambodian civil war. His love for food, people, and sharing his Khmer culture comes naturally from the journey of his life.
There was no food available when Vanarith was a young child. The middle of five children, he and his siblings foraged in the jungle and pled with passerby for anything they could share. When he was six years old, Vanarith's mother left him and his siblings behind on the street, where they were taken in by a woman running a drug and prostitution ring. After two years of suffering unspeakable abuses, a tourist noticed Vanarith on the street, starving and clothed in nothing but a pair of tattered shorts. The kind tourist took Vanarith and his siblings to an orphanage where they were given food, clothing, security and an education.
The orphanage was where Vanarith first discovered his interest in cooking and in learning English, especially because both of those efforts resulted in extra food and treats. When he left the orphanage and moved into a youth hostel, he survived by cooking for others in the hostel. He collected the equivalent of 50 cents from other hungry youth and learned how to stretch the money at local markets to prepare filling and delicious meals.
Our Mission
#1 To provide our guests with the best food tour experience of their lives. We warmly welcome our guests with open arms to explore and experience Phnom Penh through all 5 senses while making lasting memories. You will become a local for the duration of your tour, getting immersed in the food and culture of the Khmer people living in Phnom Penh. Your tour is private and will be curated to your needs, with personalized attention from your guide. We want you to touch, smell, taste, ask questions, challenge your assumptions and end the tour with a tummy full of delicious food and a heart full of love for our beautiful culture.
He also worked on improving his English by listening to podcasts, watching Marvel movies and YouTube, and most importantly, by talking to English speaking tourists. After returning to the orphanage to work with the children for a while, he worked for a NGO where he further improved his language skills. He then secured a job with a foreign owned tour company for which he developed street tours of Phnom Penh, and then worked as a freelance guide for two years. During this time, he was the guide to high-profile clients including the US Ambassador, Mike Chen (the Strictly Dumpling vlogger), Cambodian celebrity Chef Nak, and a variety of diplomats and visiting celebrities.
Starting his own Khmer food tour business had been Vanarith's dream for years, he'd even picked out a name. But it is not easy for Cambodians to start a business, or to compete with foreign owned business in their own backyard. Vanarith is incredibly grateful to all of the people who have helped him achieve his dream and is excited to now pay his good fortune forward. Ten percent of Urban Eats' proceeds are donated directly back to the community to help the elderly and to help children attend school.
#2 To do our part in the preservation of Khmer culture. Decades of civil war caused the loss of so many people, and with them important parts of Khmer culture, stories, art and architecture, recipes, music, and special bonds that tie us together as a unique people. At Urban Eats, we are committed to helping rebuild and spread our cultural pride one food tour at a time. We will share with you the beauty of our unique ingredients, spices, culinary history and the love that goes into the preparation of our food. You are given five senses with which to explore the world and we want to engage all of them so you can fully experience and understand the Khmer people.
#3 To help other Khmer achieve their dreams. We will responsibly grow Urban Eats into a business that will employee, train and empower fellow Khmer to support themselves and their families through the tourism trade. To educate and spread the beauty of and pride in their culture to Cambodian and foreign tourists alike while earning a fair living, and opening Khmer owned businesses of their own.
Authentic
Taste the Real Phnom Penh!
Cambodian Owned
Engaging
email: info@urbaneatsphnompenh.com
Call or WhatsApp: (855)86434252
© 2024. All rights reserved.
Delicious
Adventure
Personalized
Immersive