Ashley Thuthao Keng Dam, M.Sc., Ph.D

Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands

School: University of Gastronomic Sciences

Expertise: Recipe development; beer, wine & cocktails; food news; restaurants; travel; food trends

Ashley Thuthao Keng Dam, M.Sc., Ph.D

7 years writing about food and nutrition with a research focus on the use of local flora in foods and traditional medicine in Cambodia
Course architect and lecturer on pop culture and food studies for Universita degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche
National Geographic Society Explorer for the project Plant Planet Plate on the foraged foods of Cambodia
Host of Bites of the Round Table, a podcast focused on stories about food from gastronomes around the globe

Experience

Ashley "Thao" Dam is a Khmer and Vietnamese American academic and creative who specializes in food and nutrition. They bring personal insight and academic background into their work with Taste Recipes, from sharing their guide to making Vietnamese coffee to explaining what’s true and what’s not about MSG. Thao currently works as a lecturer at Maastrich University in the Netherlands and teaches on food, foraged edible plants and health. Even after years of studying eco-gastronomy in northern Italy and discovering the marvels of local slow food and cuisine, Thao still loves instant mac and cheese smothered in Sriracha sauce.

Education

St. Mary's College of Maryland, bachelor's degrees in sociology and anthropology
University of Oxford, master's in medical anthropology
University of Gastronomic Sciences-Pollenzo, doctorate in ecogastronomy, education and society

Taste Recipes Editorial Policies

Taste Recipes, a Trusted Media Brand, has been a reliable source for recipes, cooking tips and entertaining advice for more than 30 years. Every month, our content inspires well over 20 million home cooks to get creative in the kitchen. Each one of our 40 thousand recipes has gone through a rigorous testing and approval process to ensure we’re sharing the very best. Every snack, ingredient and product we recommend is tested by our team of culinary experts and professional product testers—the best of the best earn our Test Kitchen-Preferred seal of approval. Learn more about Taste Recipes and our Test Kitchen and editorial teams.

Articles & Recipes