VOA标准英语2014--美国烹饪学校吸引来自世界各地的学生

 

US Culinary School Draws Students from Around the Globe

HYDE PARK, NEW YORK— 

In 1946, when the American military returned from the World War II, a small vocational culinary institution was established for veterans in the northeastern United States.  Today, it is called the Culinary Institute of America - with three campuses in the United States and one in Singapore.  More than 12 percent of the student body is from outside the United States.

It may be the finest school of its kind in the world.  Sitting on high ground with the picturesque¹ Hudson River below is the Culinary Institute of America’s main campus.  Approximately 2,500 students, including 300 from 48 countries, enthusiastically participate in an unusual academic and vocational process.

Brendan Walsh, the dean of the school, explains what it provides for students.

“The experience that the student receives in just the first two years is one of giving them that kind of, what we like to call grit²… that grit of working a restaurant environment, being able to use your critical thinking skills in order for you to be able to accept and look at all different kinds of challenges,” he said.

There are various culinary disciplines, like the school’s science lab where students learn how ingredients change the functionality of food preparation. 

Haya Emman, from Pakistan, is immersed in the experience.

“What’s the function of an ingredient? Why do we use it? What’s the purpose of this ingredient? What does it do for your food?  Does it give flavor?  Does it give texture³?  Does it give color?  You know, and that’s what now food is about,” says Emman, who expects to open a restaurant in Karachi.

Emman’s fellow lab student, Regina Ardura, is from Mexico City. Her career goals go in a different direction.

“I would love to work at a test kitchen or also, another option I am considering, is working at a winery, developing wines,” she said.

In order to be a chef you have to understand  ingredients or how to work a dining room, or making the food presentation something special or know how to make ice cream at tableside.

“So as I add more liquid nitrogen, it turns into ice cream, it freezes it more.  This is the consistency⁴ of the ice cream right now,” explains one student.

And, as for Crystal Tan from China, baking and pastry⁵ art is what she enjoys most.

“Baking is fascinating.  With simple ingredients we can make people happy.  And, that’s what makes me very interested in learning how to bake,” she said.

She says wants to travel the world and try to work in all sorts of pastry shops, incorporating the various cultures and ingredients.  

Chef instructor⁶ J.J. Lui, from the Isle⁷ of Man in the United Kingdom, makes a bold prediction about culinary art in the U.S.

“In five or six years time there will be no need for any American chef to go overseas for the benefit of culinary training… American chefs will be able to run and own three-Michelin-star restaurants by attending programs such as we hold here,” Lui said.

The institute’s other two U.S. campuses are in San Antonio, Texas, and in St. Helena, California, in the state’s wine country.

1 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

2 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

3 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

4 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

5 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。

6 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

7 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。