美国国家公共电台 NPR U.S. Wins Bocuse D'Or Cooking Competition For The First Time

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: 

Team USA won the prestigious¹ Bocuse d'Or cooking competition in Lyon, France, this week. It was the first time the USA has won in the contest's 30-year history. It's like the World Cup for chefs, bringing together teams from Guatemala to Singapore to Iceland. Winner Mathew Peters used to be the sous chef at the well-known New York City restaurant Per Se. He and his team made 14 dishes in the big Bocuse d'Or finale.

MATHEW PETERS: We started off with a vegan dish with cremini-mushroom-wrapped asparagus thinly sliced and kind of shingled² over the top with a fork-crushed potato...

SIEGEL: And there was much more, from lobster³ with Meyer lemon mousse to braised chicken wings, foie gras, corn custard and toasted pistachios. All of this was prepared in a kind of stadium with cheering crowds and announcers, cameras, music, coaches. I asked Mathew Peters what it was like to cook in an environment like that.

PETERS: I mean it's exhilarating. You have this passion and devotion from all of our fans that ended up showing up and traveled thousands of miles just to come and represent America. It gave us the energy, you know, in the kitchen, which was fantastic, and I think that really drove us to do what we needed to do.

SIEGEL: How much time did you take off from work to prepare for this competition?

PETERS: We've taken off the entire year for training purposes.

SIEGEL: (Laughter) Describe - how do you - what's your training regimen for a year...

PETERS: (Laughter).

SIEGEL: ...Of training for a cooking competition?

PETERS: You're working on food. You're perfecting it. We had a great designer from Crucial Detail with Mark Kastner that developed all the tools that allowed us to get the timing⁴ and the execution⁵ that we wanted and the design that we were looking for, so...

SIEGEL: You're talking about knives and other kitchen utensils⁶ that were specially⁷ designed?

PETERS: No, we're talking about reinventing, you know, cooking equipment in general, whether it was a potato press that he was able to create that gave us a specific form and shape that we were able to execute out of, as well as sharpening tools that we were able to get the perfect carrot size and shape.

SIEGEL: OK, so this year sounds in part like it's training for a space shot or something like that.

PETERS: (Laughter).

SIEGEL: And then what do you do? I mean do you run to keep up your strength? What do you do with all those...

PETERS: Yeah, I mean working out is a huge part of it. Five and a half hours on your feet cooking and turning and bending - and it's wear and tear on your body, so you know, it's good to stay fit. It's good to stay strong.

SIEGEL: Now, as appetizing as your champion dishes sound, I read in the very critical review that The New York Times did of Per Se, the restaurant where you were a sous chef...

PETERS: Right.

SIEGEL: ...That it could set back a party of four $3,000 to have dinner.

PETERS: (Laughter).

SIEGEL: Are you considering some budget lines so that somebody of average means might be able to sample your dishes?

PETERS: You know, it's not my decision on, you know, the price of food. You know, the dishes that we do, we do it for us.

SIEGEL: If you're throwing in the overhead for the blacksmith⁸ who's making the...

PETERS: (Laughter).

SIEGEL: ...The tools in the kitchen, I begin to see how you can...

PETERS: Right.

SIEGEL: ...Rack up a bill after a while.

PETERS: Right, well, people have to understand that for the high quality of food, it's very expensive. The execution, the team, the people that go behind it - it's all accounted for at the end of the day.

SIEGEL: This was the first win for America in this competition, in the Bocuse d'Or. Is it a big step, do you think, for American high cuisine⁹?

PETERS: I think it's huge. You know, it's exciting. It's an exciting moment for, you know, America. It's an exciting moment for the cuisine in America to be able to have this much attention around it.

SIEGEL: That's Chef Mathew Peters, the winner of this year's Bocuse d'Or competition. He joined us via Skype from Paris. Thank you, Matthew, and congratulations.

PETERS: Thank you very much.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE KNUX SONG, "CAPPUCCINO")

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 shingled   

adj.盖木瓦的；贴有墙面板的v.用木瓦盖(shingle的过去式和过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• They shingled the roof. 他们用木瓦盖屋顶。 来自互联网

3 lobster   

n.龙虾，龙虾肉

参考例句：

• The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。
• I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾，但它不适宜于我的健康。

4 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

5 execution   

n.死刑，实行，执行，履行，演奏，表演

参考例句：

• The musician's execution was perfect,but he played without feeling.演奏者的技巧完美，但他演奏得毫无感情。
• His original idea was good,but his execution of the scheme was disastrous.他的设想很好，但实行起来却糟糕透顶。

6 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

7 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

8 blacksmith   

n.铁匠，锻工

参考例句：

• The blacksmith is hammering the red-hot metal.铁匠正在锤烧红的铁。
• The blacksmith forged a bar of iron into a hook.铁匠把一根铁条锻造成一个钩子。

9 cuisine   

n.烹调，烹饪法

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• This restaurant is renowned for its cuisine.这家餐馆以其精美的饭菜而闻名。