Last Monday, the team at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal welcomed local journalists to unveil the programme of festivities that will be taking place in the very near future, including music with the Biggles Big Band, art with Emanuela Inama and gastronomy with Michelin-starred chef Jérôme Brochot.
Jazz and swing
The Raffles Le Royal hotel is set to welcome the Biggles Big Band, Amsterdam's famous jazz orchestra, for a unique performance on Saturday 22 February 2025. The band is known for playing tunes from the great swing era, recreating the classic sounds of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and other jazz singers such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
The orchestra is made up of trumpets, trombones, saxophones, guitars, pianos, acoustic bass, drums, violins and other instruments, as well as singers.
Tickets for the concert at the Raffles Le Royal Hotel are priced at $65 net, including dinner and unlimited wine and beer from event sponsors Heineken and Celliers d'Asie.
The evening programme runs from 7pm to 10pm, with the concert taking place in the hotel's elegant Royal Ballroom.
Last year, the Biggles Big Band gave its first ever concert in Cambodia, also at the Raffles Le Royal hotel, and received rave reviews from guests and local music lovers alike.
Artist in residence: Emanuela Inama
“My aim is to convey all my sensations through these drawings on hotel cards”, explains Emanuela, the artist currently in residence at the prestigious hotel.
Emanuela is an artist from Rome and her whole life has been spent in hotels around the world, the ideal inspiration for her artistic works, not on ordinary sketch paper, but on hotel cards.
She says: “I spend a lot of time in hotels, which makes the hotel a real part of my life, as we have spent many nights in them, my husband too, due to his business travels.”
“I've always had a passion for drawing. What always fascinated me was that I started drawing on hotel cards, the ones with the logos, and little by little I started getting feedback on these drawings.”
On her local inspiration:
“Depending on the hotel, the inspiration varies. Here in Cambodia, for example, it comes a lot from the Apsara ballerinas. I also write little stories, phrases and thoughts that come to me. I put all this on paper through my drawings. It's a bit like the artists in residence: my aim is to convey all my feelings through these drawings.”
On her impressions of Cambodia, Emanuela confides:
“I love it! I really like the way of life, the attitude and the mentality, which are always positive and open. I've always loved South-East Asia. I'm very sad because I'm leaving in a few days' time. I'm going to miss it a lot and I don't want to go back to France at all!”
Gastronomy with Jérôme Brochot
Michelin-starred French chef Jérôme Brochot will be preparing a series of exclusive dinners and lunches at Raffles Le Royal from 12 to 14 February, including a special romantic Valentine's Day dinner.
The hotel invites gourmets in Phnom Penh to sample the culinary mastery of Chef Jérôme, by sampling some of his most remarkable dishes at the Le Royal restaurant, created in Montceau-les-Mines, Burgundy. Chef Jérôme trained under gastronomic legends Alain Ducasse (at Joël Robuchon's former restaurant) and Georges Blanc before opening his own eponymous restaurant, which has been extremely well received.
Chef Jérôme's star dishes include Hokkaido sea scallops with brown butter, fish fumet and sea urchins; line-caught sea bass with Crémant de Bourgogne and Moroccan saffron; squab stuffed with mushrooms; melanosporum truffle purée and herbs in vinaigrette; fine chocolate and Tonka bean tart; and much more.
To mark Chef Jerome's special visit, Raffles Le Royal is offering a romantic Valentine's Day package, including a two-night stay in a State Room (with complimentary upgrade to Suite), daily champagne breakfast, five-course wine-paired dinner at Le Royal restaurant, a bottle of champagne on arrival, a bouquet of red roses, complimentary private return airport transfer and more. The package is priced at $1,290++ and is available for stays between 13 and 16 February.
The exclusive 5-course dinner, served from 6.30pm to 9.30pm, will be priced at $88++, while the tasty 3-course lunch, served from 12pm to 3pm, will be priced at $38++. Wine pairings are available from $32. Chef Jérôme's 5-course Valentine's dinner, accompanied by a welcome glass of champagne, is priced at $108.
For more information about the Raffles Le Royal hotel, or to make a reservation for the concert, meet Emanuela or take part in the gastronomic festivities, contact +855 23 981 888 or visit www.raffles.com/phnom-penh
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