Benjamin Alter announces The Opening of Cafe CAMBODGE. New York's only Authentic Cambodian Restaurant With Executive Chef Eric Meas

NEW YORK, NY, March 03, 2014 (Press-News.org) Benjamin Alter has hospitality running in his Veins. Born in Strasbourg on the borders of France and Germany, barely one-year-old, he and his family immigrated to the small island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean and opened a restaurant on the water; an instant hit with locals and tourists alike. After 15 years, Benjamin returned to Strasbourg to finish school before he moved to New York. He started at Jules Bistro, The Elephant, Le Singe Vert, and Cafe Noir while working his way up from bus boy to GM, before opening his first restaurant Arcane, a French-Caribbean restaurant 5 years ago.

When Hurricane Sandy hit the East Village in 2012, like most of his neighbors Arcane was hit hard. The bar was closed for a month and the kitchen for more than two months, however with the overwhelming and amazing support of the community Benjamin strived to keep his doors open. One of his close friends even ran a Marathon raising $20k to help keep Arcane open. Despite their efforts, on January 24th 2014 Benjamin announced that he would close Arcane, but would reopen 2 weeks later with the creation of Cafe CAMBODGE.

Born in Cambodia, at the age of 4 Eric Meas started cooking with his mother, a food hawker, where they prepared and sold their signature dishes on the streets as a living. Her passion and love for cooking inspired Eric to develop his craft and create his own recipes. When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, Eric and his mother Maryan Nop escaped as refugees into America in 1981. As a young teen, Eric began his formal training as a cook and line chef at neighborhood restaurant in Queens. By the age of sixteen, he became a sous-chef for Le Regence at Hotel Plaza Athenee and then at the trendy 44 at The Royalton Hotel. In 1993, he would work at restaurant Daniel as a saucier for two years, when the opportunity arose to be the Executive Chef of Palmetta Plantation House on Manhattan's Upper East Side; he would not refuse the offer.

After working for 10 years at some of NYC's top restaurants, he moved to California where he was offered the position as the opening Executive Chef at San Francisco's Venture Frogs Restaurant. Eric realized his childhood dream of becoming an Executive Chef at a hotel, when he was offered the post at Dot restaurant in The Radisson Miyako Hotel. "The Cambodian-born Mr. Meas, 25, has an extraordinarily light touch with seafood and a gentle way with herbs,'' Eric Asimov wrote in The New York Times 2004 ''If only the fish that is served in the Caribbean were as juicy and delicious as what comes from Mr. Meas's kitchen.''

As time went by Eric felt a yearning to learn more about his native Asian culture and cuisine, he ventured to Singapore, and within 2 months he became the Executive Chef at well-known restaurant Velvet Room and Lounge. Flash forward ten years, and Eric has returned to New York City and looks forward to re-establishing his place in the restaurant arena and on the culinary stage. Over the course of his career Meas has brought his natural talent and years of experience in almost every cuisine to create spectacular food with finesse and dazzle. The menu at Cafe CAMBODGE will be comprised of Eric's new and signature dishes and will also showcase some traditional dishes that he and his mother are so familiar with from their beginnings back in Cambodia.

Cafe CAMBODGE is located at 111 Avenue C, between 7th and 8th streets. Hours of Operation - Sunday Thru Wednesday - Dinner from 5pm to 11pm with a late night menu till 1am - bar open till 2am. Thursday thru Saturday dinner from 5pm till 12am - bar open till 4am. Happy Hour - 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Delivery is also available 7 nights a week. For reservation's please email info@cafecambodge.com or call 646 - 370- 5158 -www.cafecamdodge.com