Touk Tells a Canadian Story Through Cambodian Food

Photo by Luis Valdizon.

When chef Chanthy Yen first saw blacked-out SUVs parked outside Touk, his popular Montreal pop-up, in 2021, he thought that members of a local criminal organization had taken a liking to his Cambodian street food. And depending on your view of politicians, he may have been correct—it was the coterie of then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, picking up food to eat while in the city. Little did he know at the time, but those clandestine visits by Canada’s most powerful politician-cum-playboy would change the trajectory of Yen’s life, leading him to become Trudeau’s personal chef and, by association, one of the most significant voices in the Canadian culinary world. Now, at Touk’s permanent address in Vancouver, Yen is continuing to tell his personal Canadian story by way of outstanding Cambodian cuisine and answering a question that he asked himself when he began cooking for the prime minister: “How can I repay Canada for allowing me to be here?”

Photo by Luis Valdizon.

Like so many Canadians, Yen’s story is one of immigration and struggle. Born in Windsor, Ontario, to Cambodian refugee parents, he was taught to cook by his grandmother. While his parents and older siblings worked, trying to integrate into Canadian life, Yen and his grandmother cared for his younger cousins, which included cooking duties. “I had one kid on my hip while cooking with my right hand, and my grandmother did the same thing,” he says, pantomiming the contorted position he cooked in. When Yen was old enough to get a job, the only logical option was a kitchen, so he went to work in a local Italian joint, where he developed his skills under a Syrian chef. “There were tons of other immigrants. You had Rwandans, Mexicans, you name it. We had a huge, completely diverse, and interesting neighbourhood to grow up in.”

Cooking would take Yen through global meccas of fine-dining, including a stop at Mugaritz, the two-Michelin-starred experimental restaurant on the outskirts of San Sebastián, Spain. While there, he beefed up his bona fides when he became the first Canadian chef to be selected by Ferran Adrià, the legendary chef behind El Bulli, to work at Bullipedia, the pioneering culinary encyclopedia dedicated to cataloguing the many facets of world gastronomy. Upon returning to Canada, Yen bounced between Vancouver and Montreal while working for Trudeau, building a resumé that included stints cooking Italian, vegan, and British fare as well as Cambodian. While his CV was as loaded as that of any chef his age, the financial realities of opening a restaurant kept Yen from opening a Cambodian restaurant of his own. But then, in 2024, he came out victorious in Top Chef Canada, and the $100,000 prize began to make his dreams feel more like reality.

Photos by Viranlly Liemena.

‎

At Touk, Yen’s aim is not only to serve his country but also to honour his heritage. “I’m still fighting to create a voice for Cambodian cuisine,” he says. He acknowledges that the widely popular cuisines of adjacent countries—Vietnam and Thailand—serve as good starting points for diners but is quick to point out that Cambodian food has its own flavour profile informed by generations of immigration, colonialism, and cultural exchange. Beyond the influences of nearby China and not-so-near France, Cambodian cuisine is imbued with flavours from India, a remnant of the Khmer empire’s status as one of the most important kingdoms in “Greater India” between the ninth and 15th centuries.

Relying on citrus rather than vinegar to brighten up its dishes, the distinguishing character of Cambodian cuisine comes from its earthy and herbaceous character compared to the chili-powered dishes of Thailand and clean vegetal ones of Vietnam.

Photo by Luis Valdizon.

But like all good restaurants, Touk is informed by both the cuisine and the chef’s own experience. “The reason I think that this is Cambodian cuisine is because it’s my narration of finding myself in Canada while having a Cambodian background.” From the outset, with starters such as the pain au lait—a buoyant milk bread served with cultured butter and topped with cured egg yolk and Basque espelette pepper—Yen’s many culinary influences come to bear on the menu. Some dishes also speak of inspirations that he hopes to explore in further detail. The Fraser Valley tomahawk, a frenched pork chop served with Cambodian mole, browned butter, and watercress salad that rears off the plate like a rising brontosaurus, is born of his increasing interest in Latin American cuisine.

One thing that’s for certain, Yen has made sure that Touk is as diverse as the Canada he grew up in. In the kitchen, behind the bar, and on the dining room floor, the faces, accents, and ages are as wide-ranging as the streets of Windsor, Montreal, or Vancouver. “I have a 65-year-old Goan woman who lived in Barbados who yells at me every morning,” Yen says, laughing. “I have these young cooks that are fresh out of culinary school. On top of that, I have a very queer team.” Like any good diplomat, Yen represents the best of his country both officially and otherwise, and at Touk as during his time as the prime minister’s chef, he is following a most admirable mantra: “to show the kids that this is what Canada looks like.”

SHARE