Blessed

I was tidying up my writeup for the column in the paper and had the chance to have another look at Alain Passard, and the story I did with him.

It brings me this warmth looking at the video, and the address of his restaurant in Paris, it was exactly what I saw, I loved his quotes and looking at the video, I feel blessed to have heard these wonderful things he shared.

He was looking at me as he spoke, lucky me!

The full story and video here: https://guide.michelin.com/sg/en/article/people/video-alain-passard-one-cook-two-lives

such as this :

The only thing left to do when you are afraid to take risks is nothing.

My hands wanted to explore new sensations on vegetable textures. I wanted new flavours, new scents, new images, new sounds.

“I never regretted it. Every day is like a first day. We are artisans and we have an incredible job. Very few jobs allow you to activate your five senses. It is a stimulating job that makes you feel good. Great cooking today is more of an adventure than just a job.” 
We do this job because we have passion for it and because we love it, and it is gratifying to the five senses. I like to be puzzled by a scent, a flavour, the sight of something in the garden, for instance, the sound of fire on the stove, the sound of cooking. A tomato and a celery do not make the same sound during cooking. Finally comes the hand, the gesture, that is able to craft something completely new. We are able to nourish our five senses through this creative process.” 
This energy is focused in one place where I love to be, with my team.”

Nuance is the hardest thing to teach. It is like tempo music, like learning how to make a pause in a recipe — that’s the most difficult.”  

After a slight pause, he adds: “Everything I have achieved today comes from my 10 fingers, from my hand at work every day. I think my hands are the most precious thing I have besides sight. That’s what I want to teach to all my chef students — the gesture, the grace, the agility of the hand, the dexterity of the hand.” 

Alain Passard

I learned so many things speaking to Alain Passard. Or just listening to him. Like when his eyes twinkle and his body comes alive telling me about feeling creativity in the air.

You feel it with him. That is one most amazing interview I have been blessed enough to experience. Writing about it now makes my cells jump with joy. Its the best thing I can give to my body. Chefs, passion, feelings like these heal me.

Like when he tells me, he’s achieved all this with his hands and fingers and these are the most precious to him—How many things have we given thanks to ourselves? our body?

Like when he says, “: “The only thing left to do when you are afraid to take risks is nothing.” 
When I asked if it was too risky a move to take away dishes which won him stars.

Like when he tells me, 20 years later he is still trying to make sense of the decision he made 20 years ago. And this version above, he clapped for the interview he had. And said, this is the best interview he has had.

My story here: https://guide.michelin.com/sg/people/video-alain-passard-one-cook-two-lives/news

What does pasta sound like

You have tasted pasta, but do you know how it sounds like?

Massimo Bottura can tell you.

So in Love with this!

And it’s exactly what I m doing, cross pollinating ideas, creating smthg unique for this new platform I m working on.

Crossovers, deriving freshness from another world and using it to support or arrive at a new perspective .

To get a new eye.

Was writing my story on Pierre Herme, and he has this to say:

“As soon as I received this invitation, I was happy – I always strive to create a global sensory experience that touches upon all five senses and so this gala dinner is a great opportunity! The challenge that interests me is making something exceptional – I have created a special dessert for this occasion, but that is all I can say for now!”

It was as if the universe gave a nod. No one told me how good this is. No one (can/ever will) appreciate this as much as I do.

Only the universe.

I m going all the way and there’s no stopping.

 

Beautiful

Do what you want

“Rules? There are no rules. Do what you want.”

Grant Achatz (born April 25, 1974) is an American chef and restaurateur often identified as one of the leaders in molecular gastronomy or progressive cuisine.

The Meaning of Life

This is one of the most beautiful interpretations of life and its meaning.

Caught this on Netflix, Chef’s Table, and the way Alex Atala said it, its simply beautiful.

“What is the meaning of life?

One night I had a dream

I was walking in the street like a kid who has the hands of the father and mother, someone bigger guiding you

And I was asking this big person, “what is the meaning of life “

He showed me circles , circles of life, and then he showed me a flower.

why?

A plant has a circle. A seed becomes a plant that has a flower, transforms into a fruit. The fruit drops. There’s another seed, it grows again, this is another circle.

I see and understand but Why u show me the flower

The flower is the moment that we live

The most beautiful moment of the circle

The most beautiful moment

Contemplate this.”

Some other beautiful quotes fr him.

Behind every dish there is death and people only close their own eyes to it.

but if caviar is fancy and tucupi is not fancy ,its just because someone told me. there’s a cultural interpretation of flavours

Theres a Brazilian chef called Roberta Subrack, She used to say something that i love

Our mise en place doesn’t start in the kitchen

it starts on the farm, in nature.

Living in Brazil is my reality, my soul my truth.

I love it! I remember writing about alex atala a few years back, we did an email interview. and now, i really hope to see him and speak to him in person!

May i have the opportunity!

Francis Mallmann

Super inspired by Argentine chef Francis Mallmann, arguably the biggest food star in the Latin world.

Watched him on Netflix and twice over, Francis Mallmann is an expert at cooking with fire: over it, under it, in it and around it.

https://www.nowness.com/story/francis-mallmann-carne-knowledge

He says that to cook with fire, one must have a feminine side, to understand the fragility of the meats.

But above this mastery over fire, its his mastery over his life that is so awe inspiring.

He is unbounded by constraints of any sort. He is boundless, but because he has family, he is torn between the two. There is just one time in the documentary that he cannot himself, talking about his family, and perhaps is regretful or sorry, that he has chosen himself over his family.

But that’s mastery too.

Love all the quotes he gave in the documentary, so wise, so deep, so alluring.

 

 

In order to grow, you have to be there, at the edge of uncertainty.

All those things made me dream

That there was a free world somewhere

So my big draw in life since very young was freedom

The freedom of believing only in myself

And not letting myself being led by anybody

I wanted to be my own

I wanted to do whatever I wanted.

I m always cooking in the wild

My message is, Get out of chair , sofa , office . go out

When u cook with fire it’s like making love

It could be huge

You have to respect what you cook

There needs to b a festive feeling about the hard work we r doing

I was very stubborn about my freedom

There’s nothing more sad than an overcooked fish

They r v inspiring romantic

They made me breathe they make me tremble

They make me live

I seldom invite people to lunch or dinner

They are really chosen

I cant spend Time with people that I don’t enjoy

I can’t do it anymore  as theater

I make choices

And that’s the beautiful thing about growing up

Learning to say no

In a nice way but you say no

I said the truth

Growing up has a bit to do with that

To be able to tell the truth

To show who you are

Even if it hurts

every person that works with you

You have to let him go at the best moment

When he and you are at the happiest moment

Then he and you think you are doing your best

They have to go

Because from  there on, there is only one way which is down

You are young you have a master you want to emulate him

But

At some point in life you have to turn around

And say I have to find my own way my language

Big prizes in life, they make you happy and sad

Because they make you question yourself

I said that was it

You have your little car

You have a place to sleep

And the dreams are dead

You don’t grow on a secure path

All of us should conquer something in life

It Needs a lot of work

It needs a lot of risk

Grace

For Grace is a fantastic documentary showcasing 3 star chef Curtis Duffy of restaurant Grace in Chicago.

He had this tattoo on his left arm which goes,”Grace is the beauty of form under the influence of freedom.”

  
In the film, he lets in on the most difficult parts of his life and I m so inspired.

I want to make a film like this. Like Kevin Pang, a journalist turned filmmaker for this film. I want to write like Pang and I think I m already writing like that, although it’s in another language. 

When I see how Duffy is now, it really just  dawns upon me how sadness makes happiness. How happiness is built on a wound, of pain.

It seemed the more pain, the more beautiful you will turn out to be.

Beauty came from a depth of injury. There can be no other way .

Love this film and this chef. I m a fan!

I want to interview him. 

The story here:

http://graphics.chicagotribune.com/grace/

And this, one of my favorite lines from the story m,

“there is no running away from what you are.”

整理

这几天有很多值得记录下来的事情。

之一。陈慧

Calvin Yeung分享朋友陈慧这则短片

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMiYTgHOeiQ
她说了很多。

都是我可以共鸣的。光是喜欢辛弃疾的“那人却在灯火阑珊处”就是一大慰借。

安慰心房。

她说她就是需要写。写就是她平衡的方式。

有时候会很累。但明天还是需要写，还能写。

我在放工挤巴士的路上看。看着看着眼就湿了。

Calvin说，有几句话会说到我心底。真的。他怎么知道？

他说，有机会我们三个相聚一定很愉快。我说，时间到，自然遇上了。

这样的遇上让我觉得人生无所谓始终。我们就是在这一环和下一环之间。这辈子之内是。一辈子与前一辈子或往后那一辈子也是。不是受苦。是获得难得的人生，赚到了学习和洞悉的机会。

我会感激。

之二。Christophe Muller

访问这位大师，学到很多。

我很久没有因为一段访问而开心。

那天Muller说，踏入Paul Bocuse的前面两年，每天重复拔长豆的两端，做一些琐碎的事。

那天不曾想过放弃吗？

他的答案是：being a chef is not easy. You have to start somewhere. You can’t learn fast, you have to take time. This is not old school, in fact this is a legacy. One day when I m no longer cooking n have retired, I’ll b happy to look at how the younger ones have succeeded me.

我问他，什么最难教？

他说：techniques you can learn from the books, passion u may already have it. But it’s the taste n the perfect balance that is most difficult. How do u pass it on?

And How do u cook food that hits u on the inside? Cooking with emotions is v important.

我听到毛都站起来了。

最近这话听多了。不管访问的是谁，总说出一样的话。

我的感触是，我都是透过他、他、他看到自己。我只是让他讲出我心里的话，所以我会感动。

就像挑衣服。选工作。选味道。都是凭自己的喜欢所选。

那些都是借来看自己的镜子。

我想起王菲的歌：“风属于谁的，我借来吹吹。你属于谁的，我借来欣赏。”

你人生里的相遇，都是你有意吸引到身边来的。

之三。借uncle我的耳朵

uncle在公司里受委屈，无人可诉。看到我说了一堆。

我很开心。

他相信我。我借了耳朵给他，自己也收获了。

他说，写作的人，需要细腻。但像我这样细腻，对精神不好。因为会是一种损耗。

细腻的人，仿佛没有了一层保护膜，赤裸裸。

他说从我的文章看到了所写，写的是别人，体验的是别人，体验得太精准了。

所以我那么累。

我明白了。

就像一个演员演一个角色那么好一样。我就像水，也像是一个空瓶子，完完全全让别人填满，完完全全去感受了受访者的感受。

他说：“美眉，要学会粗糙，不要那么细”

因为他是过来人，他跟我分享了自己以前太急的状态，慢慢的他告诉自己要慢下来，要粗一点。

我知道的，人生就是要unlearn。

把一切的unlearn，learn to unlearn。

恢复最原来本然的自己。

我很喜欢这样的交流。你拿出生命的一些。我再拿出一些。交换，滋润，然后伤害好像就不那么深了。

之四。访问厨师

昨天访问了好几名厨师，很有收获。

最大者，就是再一次对餐桌上的充满感激。

我们谈不断上涨的价格，厨师一边得面对食材越来越贵的现实，另一边，餐点的价位不能上得太高。必须保持水准。

在两者之间拔河，很多的交战，但厨师还是愿意。中间面对种种挑战，但最终转化在餐桌上的，都是最美好的。提炼出来的，都是最完美的。

我真的很感动。那件事，没有热忱和美好的一份心，绝对做不到。

真的。

于是餐桌上出现的，不再只是美食。是心。我觉得自己能够看到。太幸福了。

 

杨家弘

我到现在还是觉得unbelievable。

所以迟迟无法动笔。

受访者然后变成“朋友”。比这个更多。

创办Tburu的杨家弘（Calvin Yeung）在香港餐饮界响当当。他从水浒居到建立餐饮集团Aqua，集团下有香港乃至于亚洲最时尚的中餐馆，如呈现老北京风味的胡同、香港仅存的传统中式红杆帆船餐馆张保仔（Aqua Luna）、做中国北方菜的云府等。

采访过他一次，然后聊到他收藏碗碟。

于是再安排去采访他。

第二次上门，觉得他少了第一次采访的距离。比如原本安排在货舱访问他，结果要他来回货舱和餐馆，他一副无所谓的样子，然后在我手肘上面pat pat两下。又比如索取他的中文名。他说一路来都是用英文名。但也给了我他的中文名。

我很喜欢和他的访问，似乎一字一句都可以是quote。他有许多的真知灼见，相当有内涵，而且用情深。

比如说收藏；就是收下了，藏在心里。因为挑的过程放进很多心思，所以每一件都有珍贵的回忆。我就请他说了几个盘盘碗碗的故事。

过程中发现这个人很有思想。

访问的尾他也收得非常好，绕回到收藏。

然后他就邀请我隔天去吃晚餐。坚持要我去。

我最后也带了daddy应约。踏入餐馆那一刻，他上前迎接，握手时笑的非常开心，非常喜欢我的样子。我有些意外。然后他便坐下来陪我们吃饭。起初以为只是他请我吃，结果是他陪我们吃。

我们就这么聊着了。

聊过去／现在／未来。聊人生的苦乐，天南地北。

我觉得从他身上学到许多。比如

－尊敬比自己年长的人是一回事，但这不等于尊重对方的决定

－又如聊天时发现他的脑筋转得很快，他提议：他这个搞餐饮的，和我这个写东西的，两个平台的碰撞不知可以有什么火花。

我觉得这个idea真的很好，因为很独特，也没有人做过。但我可以吗？

他说，不要看轻自己。这和年龄没有关系。就像他开餐馆，员工做错的时候，他也不急于改正，因为就想给员工一点空间，看看对方怎么应付，说不定也有他可以学的地方。未必他是老板就是对的。

－聊天时谈到奶妈的菜，然后给他看我的instagram，我说，奶妈的菜启蒙了我的味蕾，是很珍贵的。他能够明白，他说：“说难听一点，就是吃一次，少一次。”

我原本心里就有这种感觉，结果他说出来，我就无法控制眼泪了。

那个时候眼前吃的是刺身，所以我觉得，我真会记这刺身一辈子。

聊到过去，我谈起来经过的事情，还有一些哽咽。还有觉得自己委屈，可怜的地方。但他一脸的无情和坦然，他说：“每个家庭里都有这些，像我自己，就是哥哥……很平常啊”

那对我来说是一种震撼。不可怜我的震撼。He offered me another perspective really, and it was that cold n matter of fact attitude, which woke me up a lot ， alot.

他说，夫妻没有所谓谁用谁的钱。也是。

我问他人生的意义在哪里？他说：就是受苦。但如果没有起伏，那就太闷太不真实了。没有失败，怎么会知道成功是怎么一回事？

有些问题，我似乎已经知道答案。比如daddy问他，如果人生可以重来，还会选择走一样的路吗？

我觉得他会。他也这么说。

我问他为什么请我吃饭？

他说：因为我们是好朋友。我听了觉得有些意外？从什么时候开始我们是好朋友？他说：“也许是你说的一句话、一种感觉，也没有所谓的哪一个时候，就是感觉。总之，今天你来，我很开心。你给了我一种感觉。”

我真的看出他很开心，因为他说的时候，把手放在胸部的左边。

还有很多。

我说问起从前，他说了许多我相信他不会轻易说出口的。比如自己的父亲和家族是老师，而且他多么尊重父亲，因为不只是办学，父亲做了许多应该做的事情，以至于英女皇都颁发奖状给他。

但父亲要他念书，他偏偏不念。家族里只有他一人搞餐饮。

我可以感觉到，他其实说了许多缄默的回忆。

他说我像一个他的香港作家朋友，并说她来的时候，一定要约我们见面。他说，我们的风格很像。

他又说，我和他都是同一类人。

我有些觉得如此。但我说不出为什么。好像是有种久别重逢的感觉，我不会怕他，也愿意说出我的经历。也敢问他问题。

我甚至会想继续问。像是一本书，想继续翻阅的感觉。我知道我还有很多故事可以继续听。

聊着聊着，我就说我喜欢唱歌。结果他真的就想听我唱歌了。我们就去了。途中，他一直走在我的旁边，而且会拍拍我的肩膀，或我的头，说我可爱。

接着唱歌，也是听我唱。我说我喜欢某句歌词，他说他知道。

anyway就是到现在，我还觉得bizarre。但我有一种感觉，他会是启发／改变我人生的另一个人。