陈晓卿：“中国会出现越来越多米其林小店”

Text by Yan Junling Translation by Tao Wenjia & Bian Jiajing

陈晓卿：“中国会出现越来越多米其林小店”

Text by Yan Junling Translation by Tao Wenjia & Bian Jiajing

CHEN XIAOQIN MORE SMALL CHINESE SHOPS WILL HAS A MICHELIN'S QUALITY

N=NIHAO

C=CHEN

N: What do you think is the first and foremost problem to solve in introducing Chinese cuisine and culture to international audience?

C：I think the most important thing is to have an appropriate attitude. It's true that Chinese love food, and they have a long history of making delicious dishes. However, Chinese cuisine is only one part of the world's various cuisines, just like how China is only one part of the world. So in telling our stories about food, you should never consider our food as the “centre” of the world's food map, nor should you try to “sell” anything. We are not shooting the film to teach people, but to put what the audience want to watch on TV. You will find that different countries share the same food. For instance, Chinese have ham, so do the Italians and Spanish. Though different cuisines have different ways to process it, the essential idea is similar. From the first episode, “A Bite of China” considers its audience to be people from the world, and we facilitated how foreigners shoot their documentaries. Foreign audience enjoyed the first two episodes very much. I believe this shows that culture, where wisdom and labour are embedded, is the creation of human beings, and can be shared by all.

N：How do you think you can avoid misunderstandings of Chinese food because of cultural differences?

C: I know many foreign friends. They love Chinese food, especially anything with gravy, which formed part of their impression of Chinese food. It is also because in early times, overseas Chinese opened restaurants to sell cheap fast food. Let's take Japanese food for example. During the 1970s-1980s, Japanese food in the US tried to accommodate local taste, however, now most high-end Japanese restaurants sell dishes that are more authentically Japanese. Even more, in the 1970s, Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles invented the “California Roll”, which has now became a dish that is recognised back in Japan. With our economic development, I believe the world will have a better understanding of Chinese food. I don't think there are necessarily any misunderstandings, but only the first few steps to know a new cuisine.

N：Do you think China needs its own Michelin rating system？

C：Michelin may not be the best system, but at least it's not bad. Most restaurants with Michelin stars have good quality. Even though taste is relative for different people, the Michelin standard includes some factors such as sanitation. I'm not going to say whether Chinese food should also use the same standard, but I think it is necessary to let the market decide. We don't have to prolong the life of some so-called “old establishment”∶the ancient techniques are only meaningful for show, not for ordinary people. I respect those Mom and Dad's in Japan and Europe. For generations, they don't want to expand, but just want to make the best noodles, or the best coffee. I believe in China, more and more such shops will appear, and their high quality will help them gain their Michelin stars.

N: 在向国际观众阐释中华美食文化时，首先需要解决什么问题？

陈：我觉得首要解决的问题是摆正自己的心态。中国人热爱美食且有悠久丰富的饮食历史，但中国美食只是世界美食的一部分，就像中国是世界的一分子。切忌以“天下的中心”为出发点，或者揣着“传播什么”的目的讲故事。我觉得先把这个心态捋清楚了，很多东西就会清楚很多。然后，你会发现同样一种食物，比如“火腿”，在中国有，在西班牙、意大利也有，大家都有自己的处理方式，但背后的道理都是一致的，从理解上并没有本质的障碍。而在阐述方式上来看，《舌尖》系列从第一集开始，就是以世界观众为主体受众，一开始就是采用国外纪录片的拍法。从前两季的反馈来看，在国外的反响非常好，理解上没有问题。

N：怎么避免因文化差异而产生对中国美食的误读？

陈：我认识很多外国朋友，他们很喜欢吃中国菜，尤其喜欢浇汁。这跟早期华人在海外开餐馆以低价快餐为主有关。我觉得这都有个过程。就像七八十年代的日本菜，最开始在美国也是走适合当地人口味为主。但现在，美国高档日餐厅的出品，已经跟本土日餐没有区别。70年代在洛杉矶还出现了以“飞鱼籽”和“牛油果”创出的寿司品种“加州卷”，现在已经回售到本土和世界各地。我觉得这是一个必经的过程。世界对中国美食的理解会有一步步的变化。我不认为这是误读，就是一个认识、了解发展过程。

N：中国需要自己的“米其林”吗？

陈：“米其林”未必是一种最好的制度，但至少是一种不坏的制度。大部分被评为“米其林”星级的餐厅，都有基本的口碑和素质在，并对影响就餐的因素有一些标准化的要求，比如环境卫生，上餐时盘子的热度等。中餐是否要借鉴这些评价标准我不作评论，但我觉得让市场去物竞天择是非常必要的。我们不需要用人为的手段去打福尔马林，喂养某些不称职的“老店”，因为它们的传统技术现在只用于给嘉宾和媒体表演，老百姓平时根本接触不到。在日本、在欧洲，有很多世代经营的小店，他们不想去扩充门店，就是兢兢业业地做好自己的手艺——一碗面，一杯咖啡，世代相传。这种精神特别让人尊重。我相信，未来的中国肯定会出现越来越多这样的小店，坚守品质成为“米其林”。