My Culinary Story 我的烹飪生活故事
On the invitation of Wine Living, Reynaldo Paulinho Arriola, Executive
Chef of 7ADAM Art Gallery restaurant, traces the ebbs and flows of his culinary
life
在
《酒品雜誌》的邀請下，7
ADAM 藝術畫廊餐廳的執行總廚Reynaldo
Paulinho Arriola先生追溯了他烹飪生涯的盛衰浮沉。
When I was about two years old, my family was already aware of my keen
interest in the food and beverage (F&B) industry, for my toys weren’t the
usual little boy’s stuff like Ninja Turtles and Transformers; instead I enjoyed
playing with what we locals called “masak masak”, which is little tea cups,
spoons and little plates and pots more commonly played by little girls.
Nonetheless my parents supported my choice of toys. This love for the F&B
was extended to television programmes. When my parents were out working and I
was at home with my Grandmother, I never missed programmes like Yan Can Cook,
Chef Wan and local kids cooking shows like Aksi Mat Yoyo.
當我約兩歲的時候，我的父母已經發現了我對餐飲的濃厚興趣。因為我的玩具並非一般小男生的玩物如 “忍著神龜”和，“變形金剛”，而是本土人稱為“masak
masak” 的、 一種與小茶杯、湯匙、小碟子以及鍋子為伍的、一般女生愛玩的做飯遊戲。 然而，我的父母支持我對玩具的選擇。我對餐飲的喜愛甚至延續到電視節目上。當父母外出工作，留下我和外婆在家的時候，我也從不放過 《Yan
Can Cook》 、《Chef
Wan》 以及本地的 《Aksi
Mat Yoyo》兒童烹飪節目。
In the kitchen, I enjoyed the times with my mother when she prepared
the family meals. I got to taste the best parts of whichever meat or fish that
she was cooking and the opportunity to taste what we would be having for lunch
or dinner before hand.
和媽媽在廚房里為家人準備食物是一大賞心樂事。利用幫忙做菜的機會，我得以品嘗媽媽烹煮的任何肉類或魚類的上好部份，也乘機先嘗午餐或晚餐的美味。
To me I believe my passion for cooking was inspired by the way my
mother cooked in the kitchen, where she only used bowls and fingers as
measuring instruments. Without these measuring instruments, I could not help
asking her repeatedly how much and how little salt, sugar and pepper would
produce a good meal. Her usual reply would be, “When you have been cooking for
a long time, you will know how much to add. Most importantly, you would need to
taste the dish you are preparing.” Her one advice which has left an indelible
mark on my mind is the need to cook from the heart.
對我而言，我相信是媽媽在廚房里的烹調手法激發了我對食物的強烈感情 – 碗和手指是她唯一的測量器皿。在沒有這些測量儀器的時候，我總忍不住重複地問她，要烹煮出一頓好飯菜，鹽、糖和胡椒粉的分量多少應如何定奪呢？而她一貫的回答就是：“當你學習烹飪已經有很長的一段時間，你就會知道分量的多少了。最重要的是，在烹煮菜肴時，你必須試味道。” “用心來烹調”，媽媽的這個忠告在我腦海中留下了不可磨滅的印記。
When I was a teenager, I had dreams of becoming a lawyer, scientist,
doctor and other glamorous occupations fantasised by most other growing
children. Though I love to cook, being a chef had never been an ambition for
me. The time came when I was nearing the end of my army life and had to make a
decision.
青少年的我，曾夢想要當律師、科學家、醫生以及其他成長中的孩子幻想中魅力四射的職業。雖然我喜愛烹飪，可是當廚師卻不曾是我的志願，這志向的抉擇發生在我即將服完兵役之際。
It was my mother who reminded me of my passion for cooking and
suggested that I pursue a diploma at a local culinary institute. I was a little
hesitant at first as the course did not come cheap. My mother insisted that I
check it out while she asked around. The eventual choice was to enrol with
SHATEC. I was 20 years old then and had the support of both my parents. Some of
my aunties were not that supportive however; to them, cooking was very much a
“girl” kind of thing, and that depressed me. Nonetheless, in 2002, I went on to
pursue my diploma in culinary skills.
是媽媽提醒了我對烹飪的熱忱，并建議我到本地烹飪學院去修讀文憑課程。開始時我有點猶豫，因為它的學費並不便宜。但媽媽堅持要我去查詢，而她也幫我四處打聽，我最終選擇了報名入學
SHATEC。當時二十歲的我，有父母的扶持，但一些阿姨們并不是那麼支持我的。對他們而言，烹飪是女生做的事，這讓我感到很鬱悶。然而，在2002年，我還是去修讀了我的烹調技藝課程。
I did well at SHATEC, scoring As for most of my subjects, a feat I
would hardly have achieved in my secondary school days.
我在SHATEC成績優異，大部份科目都考獲 “A
”等的成績，那是我中學時期未曾取得過的壯舉。
After graduating from SHATEC in 2004, I was given the opportunity to
participate in a part-time event as a station chef for the British High
Commission at EXPO Singapore, which was holding a food event portraying international
products not sold in Singapore. During that event, I met a friend from SHATEC
who was working at Raffles Hotel Singapore. She introduced me to a chef of hers
who later became my very good friend Kidd Leong. I remembered Kidd asking me
for my age and my credentials and most vividly, I remembered her cautioning me
that the hours would be long and the work tedious; she was most concerned if I
would mind not having a personal life. That I obviously did not mind as I was
eager to join the hotel of my dream.
于2004
年
SHATEC 學院畢業後的一次兼職活動中， 我有幸在英國最高專員署假新加坡博覽中心主辦的的一項“未在新加坡銷售的國際產品”展中擔任二廚 （station
chef）。在那次活動中，我遇上了一位在新加坡萊佛士酒店 （Raffles
Hotel Singapore）工作的
SHATEC 朋友，之後她把我介紹給她的廚師
-- 而後來成為我好友的
-- Kidd Leong。猶記當時
Kidd Leong 問及我的年齡和資歷，但印象最深刻的，是她的警示：漫長的工作時間和單調乏味的工作。她關心的是我是否介意失去個人生活。很明顯的，我并不介意，因為當時我是那麼的渴望加入我夢想中的酒店呀。
The turning point in
my culinary life came in 2005 when my uncle asked me if I would be interested
in following him and my aunt to France for some hands-on French fine dining
work experience. I was both excited and hesitant about the proposal as I did
not speak French. He insisted that I go for it as age is also a factor in this
industry.
我烹飪生涯的轉捩點發生于2005 年，當我的舅舅（？）問我是否有興趣跟他和（舅母？） -到法國去體驗一下實踐式的精緻法式餐飲工作經驗的時候。 對於他的提議，我是一半雀躍一半躊躇，因為我不懂法文。但舅舅堅持認為我應該抓緊這轉機，因為在餐飲行業中，年齡是個因素。
The day came when I
found myself being escorted by my whole family and close friends to the
departure gate at Changi Airport. Feelings at that time were one of anxiety,
far more than when I was being enlisted to the National Service. I was very
much a mama’s boy and an introvert then, and the prospects of leaving home for a
year or even more saddened me.
那天終於來了。我被全家和密友護送著，來到樟宜機場的登機門。當時的興奮，遠遠超過我應招入伍國民服役的心情。 但我是個離不開媽媽的孩子，一個內向的男生，離開家一年甚至更長的可能性讓我感到悲傷。
My arrival at Bordeaux
coincided with a grand biennial wine exhibition called VINEXPO. My uncle’s wine
business was invited to the exhibition and I tagged along to taste wines as old
as 1943 1961 and 1982. Wines which I had tasted and loved so much till this
very day are Chateau Yquem, Chateau Cheval Blanc, Chateau Margaux, Chateau
Laffite Rothschild, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau La Tour, Chateaux
Domaine De Chevellier, Chateau Lynch Bages, Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou, Chateau
Clos d’Estournel, Chateau Angelus, Chateaux Le Pin and Petrus.
我抵達波多爾的時候，適逢一個盛大的兩年一度美酒展，名為VINEXPO。舅舅 （？）的酒業受邀出席，於是我也緊隨到場，品嘗了涵蓋1943，1961及1982的陳年佳釀。 我品嘗過而摯愛至今的美酒來自以下莊園：Chateau Yquem, Chateau Cheval Blanc,
Chateau Margaux, Chateau Laffite Rothschild, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau
La Tour, Chateaux Domaine De Chevellier, Chateau Lynch Bages, Chateau Ducru
Beaucaillou, Chateau Clos d’Estournel, Chateau Angelus, Chateaux Le Pin and
Petrus.
My adaptation period
to the European culture and mentality was brief before I got an interview with
a two-star Michelin Chef, Thierry Marx, who had once worked for my uncle’s
restaurant in Singapore called, “The L’gle Dor” at Duxton Hill, Berjaya Hotel.
在短暫的歐洲文化和心理調適期過後，我便接到一個面試，它來自一位兩颗米其林星（Michelin Star）廚師 -- Thierry
Marx，他也曾在我舅舅位於新加坡 Duxton Hill 的“成功酒店”（Berjaya Hotel）中的 “The L’gle Dor” 餐廳工作。
I was asked to do a
free “trial” event before I was accepted for appointment at Chef Marx’s
restaurant in the Medoc region of Bordeaux, the south-western part of France
where I stayed for two years as Chef De Partie for the fish station.
在完成了一個免費“試用”項目之後，我便正式受聘，在Marx廚師位於法國西南部的波多爾（Bordeaux）梅多克地區（Medoc region）的餐館就職。我在那裡逗留了兩年，擔任魚站的廚師（Chef De Partie），監督和總管廚房的一切活動。
The strange “Welcome
to Hell” by the Sous Chef freaked me out as it made me rather fearful of what
to expect. As there was simply no turning back, I realised I just had to grit
my teeth and go on with life.
副廚師長（Sous Chef）異乎尋常的“歡迎來到地獄”召喚，讓我感到恐懼，因為我無法預期將會發生什麽事。 但是我知道，已經沒有回頭路了，只好咬緊牙關，繼續往人生路走下去。
The first eight months
at Chateau Cordeillan Bages were the toughest days of my life. The linguistic
deficiency also meant an almost friendless environment. Work began at 7 am in
the morning; the split shift was from 11am till 3 pm for lunch, before resuming
work at 5pm for six days a week. However, if life was as straightforward as
that, it would have been less stressful for I had to stay back and prepare the
staff meal’s mise en place. This meant preparing food including cutting the dry
vine brunches？（branches?） for smoking the meat, peeling 20 kg of onions and 40 kg of potatoes and
more, stand by at every station, for example, The Griller, Gardemanger (Cold
Side ) and fish station, and getting ready spoons for service and many more. By
the time I could rest it would be the time to resume work for the dinner
service. The Sous Chef made life really difficult for me perhaps because I was
unable to speak French; he always called me “Asian”, saying that I was free to
return to where I came from if I wasn’t happy with what I was told to do.
在Cordeillan Bages莊園（Chateau Cordeillan Bages）的頭八個月是我人生中最艱難的歲月。
因語言的不足，處於近乎沒有朋友的寂寞境界。工作從早上七點鐘便開始了，交替分次輪班的話，是從十一點至三點，午餐時間過后，下午五點鐘繼續工作，每周工作六天。 如果生活是那麼直接了當，我就不會有太大的壓力了，但我需要留下來準備員工餐并確保廚房一切就緒。也就是說，我要準備食物，包括切割乾的葡萄枝作為燻肉之用，剝開20公斤的洋蔥皮和40公斤的馬鈴薯皮，還要在每個部門 -- 如燒烤部、食品儲藏室（冷藏部份）和鮮魚部 – 待命，打點湯匙服務等等。 當我可以歇息的時候，又得為晚餐服務而繼續工作了。副廚師長讓我感到生活確實過不去，或許因為我不會說法文吧。他總是叫我“亞洲人”，還說如果我對他叫我做的事情感到不滿意，可以自由選擇回家。
I took it positively
and told myself constantly never to give up; I sincerely believe that if I
persisted, I would one day make my mark in life. This self-motivation guided me
through every single day especially when times were tough. The ending of dinner
service at 10.30pm meant the beginning of another round of cleaning up of the
whole kitchen together with the team. That included washing the exhaust, hot
cast iron stoves and utensils, followed by a de-brief of the day and the
schedule of work the following morning.
對這一切，我採取用積極的態度去面對。我屢次告訴自己不要放棄，我誠摯的相信，如果我固執地堅持，我會闖出名堂。這自我激勵牽引我渡過了每一天，特別是艱難的日子。餐廳晚餐服務的結束，也意味著與團隊另一輪廚房整體清理工作的開始，包括清理排氣管、熱鑄鐵爐、廚房器具，接著就是聽取一天的彙報以及第二天早上的時間表。
So by the time I left
the kitchen, it would be about 1 to 1.30am. My day did not end there however.
While others would drive home to where they either rent or live with their
family, the hostel where I lived with eight other colleagues had only one
bathroom. The queue for our baths would end up with us hitting the bed at about
3 to 3.30am. That meant technically a maximum of three hours of shut-eye every
day. Bed was in a room divided into four quarters, each no bigger than a 4m by
4m, and lit by one miserable light bulb. As it was, privacy was never a
vocabulary in this community way of life.
因此，當我離開廚房的時候，已是大約午夜一點或一點三十分了。然而，我的一天尚未到此結束。其他人會開車回到他們租來的房間或者回到與家人同住的地方，我則回到一所與八位同事合租的、僅有一間浴室的宿舍。由於要排隊洗澡，總要弄到三至三點半才上床睡覺。 確切地說， 每天合上眼睡覺的時間頂多是三個小時。床擺在分成四等份的房間里，每張床只有 4m x 4m 那麼大，只有一個可憐的燈泡照明。 因為這樣，隱私從來不會出現在這社區生活方式的詞彙當中。
Under such hard
environment, the tendency to give up many times was strong; what drove me on
was this resolve to return home as a Head Chef.
在這艱苦的環境中，很多時候都有強烈的放棄傾向，驅使我向前不退縮的，是那回國成為主廚的決心。
Though days were tough
at the Chateau Cordeillan Bages, I was really happy that I was the only Asian
to have prepared the staff meal for Chef Marx, an admirer of Asian culture.
在Cordeillan Bages 莊園的日子雖然過得很艱難，但我真的很高興，因為我是唯一一個曾經為Marx廚師-- 一個亞洲文化的崇拜者 -- 準備員工的工作餐的亞洲人。
He came up to me one
day and asked me to prepare a Singaporean dish. This was no easy task as Asian
products in France were costly and getting good quality ingredients was even
more difficult. So finding some really nice bean sprouts in the fridge was like
godsent and set me back to the times when my mother would cook for me a simple
dish of bean sprouts sautéed with garlic and light soya sauce.
一天，他走近我，叫我準備一道新加坡菜肴。這不是件容易的差事，因為亞洲產品在法國的價錢昂貴，要找到質量好的食材更加困難。因此，要在冰箱里找到一些真的很好的豆芽，猶如天賜。這把我帶回了媽媽為我烹煮簡單的清炒豆芽加點蒜米和醬油的日子。
This gave me an idea.
I first diced up the bean sprouts into small grains to resemble risotto, a much
loved European rice dish. I went further and deglazed it with some truffle jus
and mascarpone before sprinkling the dish with some parmesan cheese. It was
something really simple and as usual, Chef Marx always saw the need to smell
before eating.
它讓我萌生了一個主意：我先把豆芽切成如谷粒般細小，使它看起來像意大利燴飯（risotto）-- 歐洲人酷愛的一道飯菜。我更進一步地用特純松露汁（truffle jus）和馬斯卡朋乳酪（mascarpone）除去它表面的油脂。這其實是很簡單的一道菜肴。和往常一樣，Marx 廚師進食前必須先聞一聞。
He looked puzzled at
first, but when he tasted the dish, I remembered the look on his face: he was
actually enjoying the taste! Chef Marx called the Sous Chef and all the other
Chef De Partie to join him in the food tasting. He was speaking in French and I
could hardly understand what he was saying most of the time. He suddenly spoke
to me in English telling me that he loved the dish and that he would include it
in the ala carte menu.
起初他是一臉的不解，可是當他嘗了那菜之後，我記得他臉上的表情：他竟然享受著它的味道！Marx 廚師把副廚師長和其他廚師叫來，和他一起品嘗美食。他說的是法語，我大部份時間都幾乎無法聽懂他在說什麼。突然，他用英語和我說話，告訴我說他喜歡那道菜，還說要把它加入照菜單點菜（a la carte）的菜譜中。
After some
modifications to the dish, my creation was listed in the menu. I felt really
good then as Chef Marx was a two-star chef, and I was a nobody at that time.
Before I left Cordeillan Bages, I assisted him in cooking and in a photo taking
session in the publishing of some cook books. The first book was called “PLANET
MARX”, and it included a picture of the whole team and the second was “EASY
MARX”.
把菜肴經過一些改良后，我的創作就列入了菜單中。那個時候，感覺真的很好，因為 Marx 是二星廚師，而我當時只是個無名小卒。 在離開Cordeillan Bages之前，我在烹調工作上給予他協助，也在一些烹飪書籍的出版拍照會中幫忙。他出版的第一本書名為 “PLANET MARX”，其中包括了整個團隊的照片。第二本書則命名為“EASY MARX”。
After the second book
went to print, I moved on to Relais De Margaux 4 * Luxury Golf and Spa and
became its 1er Chef De Partie after six months of work before going on to take
charge of the gastronomic restaurant for one and a half years. The restaurant
was situated further down the Medoc where I would always have my afternoon jog
passing all the grand Chateaux like Chateau Pichon Longueville, which was
flanked on the left by the Comtesse De Lalande and on the right by the Baron
Phillipe. Further down was Chateau Latour and on another direction was Chateau
Margaux. For my days off, I would always patronise all the Chateaux in the
Medoc for a wine tasting experience.
當第二本書送去打印后，我便走馬上任到高爾夫球場和水療中心兼備的Relais De Margaux 四星級旅館擔任它的總廚（1er
Chef De Partie），六個月后，再到一家美食餐廳負責掌舵。這餐廳位於離開我經常下午慢跑遠一些的梅多克（Medoc），一路可見宏偉的城堡莊園如 Chateau Pichon Longueville，左翼是 Comtesse De
Lalande酒莊，右翼為 Baron Phillipe酒莊 。繼續往下走，可見Latour酒莊，另一端則是Margaux酒莊。在我的休息日，我經常光顧這些梅多克莊園，為的是品酒的體驗。
My appreciation of
good wine could be attributed to my uncle, Laurent, who introduced me to the
experience. I love the fact that with each wine’s different vintages, it offers
complex notes to the palate; some were really fruity and peppery while some
were smoky and oaky; some even offered a very earthy taste. Wines that are 10
years and older are lighter in shade, much akin to the colour maroon.
我將自己對美酒的鑒賞歸功於我的舅舅 -- Laurent，這些體驗是他帶給我的。我喜歡的一個事實是：不同的葡萄酒，基於不同的釀造年份和產區，會給味蕾留下複雜的印記。有些帶著十分圓潤的果味和胡椒味，有些帶著煙燻味和橡木味，有些甚至帶著泥土味。年齡十年或十年以上的酒色澤較淺，類似栗紅色。
After working i the
Medoc for three years, I intended to move to Paris. I got myself a job at Park
Hyatt Vendome as its Junior Sous Chef. The appointment however did not fall
through as a result of the economic
crisis. (it fell through, didn’t it ? – because of the economic crisis?)
在梅多克（Medoc）工作了三年，我打算搬遷到巴黎去。我給自己在 Park Hyatt Vendome 酒店找了一份初級廚師長（Junior Sous Chef）的工作，但是由於當時的經濟危機，我的願望落空了。
For three months, I
was jobless. I finally land myself with a job in the southeastern part of
France Beziers in a place called Chateau Lignan. It was an old castle with a
history dating back to the 16th century; I spent a year at the castle-turned-
bed and breakfast hotel before moving on to Evian, which was up in the
mountains and next to Lyon.
失業了三個月后，我終於在法國南部貝濟耶（Beziers）的一座城堡（Chateau de Lignan）找到了一份工作。那是一座古老的城堡，它的歷史可以追溯到十六世紀，現已變為一家住宿加早餐的酒店。我在那裡呆了一年，接著就搬移到位於山上比鄰里昂的埃維雍（Evian）。
My last job in France
was with Hotel Royal Evian in Evian Le Bains. I was promoted to Junior Sous
Chef of a gastronomic restaurant; here I learned a lot more as most of the
chefs used to work with great names like Alain Ducasse, Joel Robuchon and Guy
Savoy. The opportunity to work with these experienced old chefs had contributed
much to my culinary skills.
我在法國的最後一份工作是在位於埃維雍萊班 （Evian Le Bains）的一家酒店（Hotel
Royal Evian）。晋升為初級廚師長（Junior Sous Chef）的我，在這裡獲益良多。因為這裡大部份的廚師都慣於和大師級人物如Alain Ducasse, Joel Robuchon 以及 Guy Savoy共事。有機會和這些經驗豐富的老廚師一起工作，對我的烹飪技巧有極大的幫助。
In Evian, life was
always busy, for in summer, the World Evian Golf Master was held, while in
winter, most hotel guests would be up there skiing. On my days off I would make
my way down to Lausanne, Switzerland, which was a 20-minute boat ride dividing
France and Switzerland. Except for the northwestern part of France, I had
covered almost the entire France on my off days.
在埃維昂的日子經常都是忙碌的。因為在夏天，埃維雍高爾夫球大師賽在這裡舉行；在冬天，大多數的酒店客人會上山滑雪。在休假日，我會往下走，到瑞士的洛桑（Lausanne, Switzerland）去 - 法國和瑞士，是二十分鐘船程的分界。除了法國西北部，我幾乎在休假的日子遊遍了整個法國。
I finally returned
home in 2010 to my girlfriend who had waited patiently for me for five years. I
was feeling rather selfish for having made her wait all these while and I was
also kind of homesick.
2010年，我終於回到了家、回到耐心等了我五年的女朋友身邊。讓她等了那麼些日子，我覺得有點兒自私；而我也有點兒想家了。
Back in Singapore, I
worked in Oyster Bar as its Sous Chef for a year before moving on to The Halia
as Chef De Cuisine for another year. I later joined 7ADAM Art Gallery
restaurant as its Executive Chef. At 7ADAM Art Gallery restaurant, I was given
strong support by my bosses and management. They have entrusted the kitchen to
me and given me the freedom to let my culinary creations run wild. The classic
French cooking training made me appreciate modern cooking. My culinary
creations could be referred to as modern French cuisine with an Asian twist.
回到新加坡，我在Oyster Bar餐廳當了一年的副廚師長（Sous Chef），之後便到The Halia餐廳擔任一年的主廚（Chef De Cuisine）。一年后，我加入7ADAM 畫廊餐廳擔任行政總廚（Executive Chef）。在7ADAM 畫廊餐廳，我得到上司和管理層的鼎力支持。他們把廚房委託給我，并給予我自由，讓我的想像力如脫韁的野馬般馳騁。我的法式烹調培訓讓我欣賞現代烹調，我的創意美食可以說是帶有出人意表亞洲風味的現代法國烹調。
Chef Reynaldo
attributed his success today to God, his parents, all the trainers in SHATEC,
7ADAM Art Gallery Restaurant, his Uncle Laurent, Aunt Carmen and his wife
Liyin.
~ 刊登于《JIU品wineliving》雜誌，Issue 2， p76-83
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