When he was growing up in France’s Loire Valley, Christmas dinners at Joannes Riviere’s place were a little unusual. The family’s yuletide feast featured not just traditional dishes such as oysters and foie gras but also larp, a minced meat dish from Cambodia, served with sticky rice on the side.
“It was our special occasion dish,” Riviere recalls. “We also had it for birthdays, and I remember my dad once cooking it for a wedding.”