VOA文化艺术2023--Self-taught Chefs Win Michelin Guide Star

Self-taught Chefs Win Michelin Guide Star

Georgiana Viou is self-taught chef, or cook, from the west African country of Benin. She moved to France in hopes of becoming a translator.

Instead, she opened a restaurant there.

On Monday, her restaurant was awarded a star by the Michelin Guide. A restaurant is considered highly respected if it is awarded a star by the Michelin guidebook.

Viou's restaurant is called Rouge¹. It is in the southwestern French city of Nimes.

Viou was not the only self-taught chef to get the award this year. A chef who studied literature, David Degoursy, and pastry² chef Jeanne Satori, with a degree in sustainable development, also won a star for their restaurant de:ja. That is in Strasbourg, in eastern France, where the yearly awards ceremony was held.

Of the 44 new Michelin stars given out this year, Viou's is the only one won by a single woman. Several other women were honored as part of a team, like Satori, the pastry chef at de:ja.

Viou, who is 45-years-old, has said her cuisine³ is a mix of French Mediterranean⁴ and Beninese food. She has written several books about Benin's cooking.

Becoming a chef was a backup plan for Viou. She came to France in 1999 to study languages at Sorbonne University in Paris, hoping to become a translator. But after working at a communications company, her life changed directions. At age 33, cooking took over.

As a chef in training, she was one of the few women in the male-centric world of professional cooking. She said she does not like being judged because of her sex or skin color. She said that "it's completely ridiculous" to be considered "a la mode" for being a Black female chef. A la mode is French for "fashionable or modern."

Instead, she wants to only be judged for the food she serves.

Viou learned to cook from her mother, who had a small restaurant in Benin. She first worked toward becoming a chef in Marseille. She joined Rouge, in Nimes, after it opened in June 2021.

Viou's Michelin star was given for her cuisine that celebrates "her Mediterranean environment and Benin roots."

She was emotional at the awards ceremony. At Rouge, "We're not a team. We're a family," she said.

Words in This Story

translator — n. a person who changes words written in one language into a different language

literature — n. written works that are considered to be very good and to have lasting⁵ importance

cuisine — n. a style of cooking

ridiculous — adj. extremely silly or unreasonable⁶

fashionable — adj. currently popular

roots — n. the family history of a person or a group of people

1 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

2 pastry   

n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。

3 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。

4 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。