Cambodian cookbook titled The Taste of Angkor has been distinguished as the "Best Asian Cookbook" at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2021 in France, the country's foreign ministry announced in a press statement on Wednesday.

The award ceremony is currently being held in Paris from November 29 to Monday, the statement said, adding that The Taste of Angkor, prepared and published by the Cambodia's foreign ministry as part of its cultural diplomacy, was unveiled in January.

The cookbook contains a selection of 38 recipes of Khmer dishes and desserts, it said, adding that easy-to-follow detailed instructions, encompassing ingredient substitutions of Khmer ingredients that may be hard to source abroad, were the highlight of this artistic culinary book.

"The Taste of Angkor, which is provided for the use of Cambodian diplomats and to be presented as gifts to foreign dignitaries, is a great contribution of the Royal Government of Cambodia's advancement of its food and cultural diplomacy," the ministry said in the statement.

"The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2021 is a fresh source of pride and honor for the Kingdom of Cambodia's efforts to get the world to know and truly appreciate the great legacy of Cambodia's thousand-year-old culinary heritage," the statement added.

Food diplomacy is one of the cornerstones of the ministry's economic diplomacy strategy 2021-23, the statement said, adding that the aim of the strategy is to enhance Cambodia's prestige on the international stage and to contribute to the realization of the Cambodian government's vision for 2030 and 2050.

Cambodia plans to become an upper-middle income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050.

The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards was founded in 1995 with the goal of supporting culinary traditions from around the globe, the statement said.