Last week in Hong Kong - this year's designated annual gathering place, the first time in Asia - 20 club members from across the globe met for three days to chat (and be served meals prepared by others) about the demands of preparing state dinners and complying with the whimsical tastes of their bosses. It was a first-time visit in Hong Kong for many of the chefs, including Cristeta Comerford (chef to U.S. President Barack Obama), Mark Flannagan (chef to Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain), and surprisingly, Guo Lai-zhu and Jin Li-Zeng, too (head chefs for the Great Hall of the People).

　　The chefs shared war stories and lessons learned - the hard way - of serving officials and VIPs before sitting down to a meal of abalone at Hong Kong's famed Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant.

　　国际御厨协会年会在香港召开

　　1. Avoid the 'favorite dish' question.

　　Though it is one of the most popular questions asked of any head of state, prudent chefs avoid giving the answer. When word got out that Jacques Chirac liked tête de veau (calf's head), the former French president had to endure eating the dish almost everywhere he went. 'It was not even a favorite dish for [Chirac],' recalls Bernard Vaussion, who currently cooks for President Nicolas Sarkozy and has served as chef to five French presidents in the past 37 years. 'After a while, you can imagine how sick he must've been of it. It was a lesson learned.'

　　2. Short is sweet.

　　With all the work required to run a country, there's little time left for meals. President Sarkozy reportedly prefers his meals served within a precise 50 minutes. Meals for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are so prompt, 'you could set your clock by it,' says Flannagan, who has been cooking for the British royal family for 30 years.

　　3. China is in a league of its own.

　　While most head-of-state chefs serve hundreds at three-hour-long state dinners, Guo and Jin say that they - and their staff of 200 - can serve a sit-down dinner for 6,000 people within an hour. 'For cocktails or buffet, we can do 10,000 in one hour,' boasts Jin. And though other chefs say catering to persnickety VIP's can be stressful, that doesn't seem to ruffle the Chinese chefs. 'If we avoid serving sea cucumber, which Westerners tend to hate, then it usually turns out okay,' says Guo. 'We have no problems with the rest.'

　　国际御厨协会(Club des Chefs des Chefs)规模很小，只有30人，该协会会员都是为国家元首料理餐饮的主厨。国际御厨协会由法籍制服设计师布拉加德（Gilles Bragard）在1977年创立，该协会已向几十位总统和皇室成员提供过服务，其座右铭就是“政治将人们隔离，而美食又使他们坐在一起”。

　　今年的御厨协会年会在香港召开，这也是该协会首次在亚洲举行年会。上周，来自世界各地的20位协会会员齐聚香港，进行了为期三天的有关国宴准备与迎合其老板变化无常口味的讨论(会员的餐食由其他人烹饪)。其中很多大厨都是第一次来到香港，其中包括康佛德（Cristeta Comerford，美国总统奥巴马的大厨)和佛兰纳根（Mark Flannagan，英国女王伊丽莎白二世的大厨)及意外现身的人民大会堂主厨郭来柱和金礼增。

　　大厨们在一起聊到战争故事，也聊到各自为高官和贵客料理食物的经验教训，然后在香港驰名中外的阿一鲍鱼酒楼(Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant)用餐。

　　1.不要回答“最喜欢的菜是什么”

　　尽管这是最经常被问到的问题之一，但是精明的大厨从不回答这个问题。当有传言说雅克?希拉克（Jacques Chirac）喜欢吃小牛头，于是这位法国前总统几乎无论走到哪里，都会见到这道菜。法国现任总统尼古拉?萨科齐(Nicolas Sarkozy)的御用大厨沃森（Bernard Vaussion）回忆说，其实牛头不是希拉克的最爱。他在过去37年时间里共为五个法国总统做过饭。他说，你可以想象经过一段时间后，希拉克会有多么厌恶这道菜，这是一个教训。

　　2.时间越短越好

　　鉴于国家领导人总是日理万机，他们的吃饭时间就所剩无几。据说法国总统萨科奇希望他的吃饭时间能精确地控制在50分钟以内。已为英国皇室掌勺30年的佛兰纳根说，英国女王伊丽莎白二世和丈夫菲利普亲王的饭食都是事先准备好的，立等可得。

　　3.中国自有一套

　　虽然几乎所有御用大厨都要在三个小时的国宴上为数百位客人烹饪，但是郭来柱和金礼增说，他们与其他200位同事可在一小时内为6000人提供桌餐宴会。金礼增夸口说，如果是一万人规模的鸡尾酒会或自助餐，我们可在一小时内完成。尽管其他大厨说，为挑剔的贵宾准备餐饮有时压力很大，但中国大厨似乎并没有这个烦恼。郭来柱说，只要我们做菜时尽量避免一般西方人不爱吃的海参，客人反应通常就会不错，我们没有其它方面的烦恼。