魏水華

潘小敏做的四道菜是紅燒肉、八寶鴨、迎賓蝦、煎魚排，湯是川菜里的翠汁雞豆花。希拉克吃得很高興，一個勁豎大拇指;潘小敏也很高興，自己的廚藝得到了肯定。

最近，法國、意大利的街景頻頻見諸電視和報端。潘小敏記憶里那個法國又鮮活了起來。

這位曾經在中華人民共和國駐法蘭西大使館擔任主廚的廚界大師，在法國工作了5年，并游歷了阿爾及利亞、荷蘭、比利時、盧森堡、奧地利、意大利、希臘等十幾個國家，傳播中國飲食文化。他說，希望友善的法國人能夠早日戰(zhàn)勝疫情，希望大家都能在同一片藍天下，享受美食帶來的快樂。

入廚：一年半便能出師掌勺

1951年10月，潘小敏生于蘇州。他父母以前是開蜜餞廠的，江浙人嗜甜，蜜餞做得精致、漂亮，家家戶戶逢年過節(jié)必備。這些精致的蜜餞，最早培養(yǎng)了他對中餐“色香味形”中“形”的概念。

家里有四個孩子，父母平日要經營蜜餞廠，所以雇了人照顧潘小敏四兄妹。他說，記得家里幫傭的手藝很好，會做很多傳統(tǒng)蘇州菜，比如從前蘇州人過年必備的“三件子”。

“三件子”是老式蘇菜的做法。準備一個大砂鍋，把全雞、全鴨、全蹄膀放進去一起燉，看起來簡單，但吃的是細功夫。烹飪過程中要調整火候、撇沫、加鹽，還要注意食材的先后順序。沒有經驗的廚師將這些食材一股腦地燉，往往雞已經爛了，鴨還不行;蹄膀出油多，很多人不喜歡，但如果油撇得太干凈，又顯得湯色不行。

這些傳統(tǒng)菜給潘小敏的啟發(fā)很大。他說：“當廚師和做人本質上是一樣的，要會處理矛盾，找到一個最佳平衡點，也就是大家都能接受的味道。很多人認為名廚有什么獨門秘訣，但我常常對徒弟說：眾口難調，追求小眾秘方，一定有人喜歡，有人不喜歡。不管什么菜系，創(chuàng)新的基礎都是對傳統(tǒng)菜式的融會貫通，有傳承的創(chuàng)新，才能皆大歡喜。”

1968年，17歲的潘小敏去了昆山巴城鎮(zhèn)。在這個盛產陽澄湖螃蟹的小鎮(zhèn)，潘小敏待了3年。在這期間，他機緣巧合進入了當時的昆山飯店，開始學廚。他從打荷和水臺做起。打荷，就是給爐灶師傅打雜;水臺，則是為切配師傅打下手。

潘小敏年紀輕、動作快，爐灶大師傅和切配大師傅都喜歡他。不僅如此，潘小敏還好學，當時飯店的廚師是兩班倒，切配師傅早班，爐灶師傅晚班，潘小敏就兩邊跟著學，從早上5點一直干到晚上9點，一天干兩個人的活。一般廚房學徒要干滿三年才能出師，然而僅僅一年半以后，潘小敏就已經可以出師掌勺了。

1977年，潘小敏回到蘇州，進入物資局下屬木材加工廠做后勤科辦事員。但做廚師就像是他的宿命。1986年，物資局下屬的“胥城大廈”開張，負責后勤的潘小敏又被調去酒店餐飲部，回到了老本行。一路擔任爐灶領班、切配領班，到1992年，他終于升級為胥城大廈的行政總廚。

在潘小敏看來，行政總廚更考驗自己廚房管理、菜式研發(fā)這些宏觀能力。“比如準備幾百、上千人的宴席，怎么排菜單，怎么保證熱菜、冷菜都以最佳溫度和狀態(tài)上桌，怎么最少浪費和最大利用率地采購食材，怎么開發(fā)新菜，在滿足食客的新奇感和不增加廚房人力成本之間平衡?！彼f。

這些履歷，奠定了他后來赴法工作的基礎。

考試：十分鐘內開4張菜單

1997年，外交部在蘇州挑選駐外大使館的廚師，邀潘小敏去報名。

代表國家門面的國宴，一直有以淮揚菜為底子，加入其他菜系所長的傳統(tǒng)。這不僅因為淮揚菜口味平和，能被大多數外賓接受，還因為淮揚菜講究“粗菜細做”。另外，淮揚菜的刀工是四大菜系里最講究的，和重調味的川菜、重本味的粵菜、重火候的魯菜都不一樣，比較符合中國傳統(tǒng)士大夫的審美，也能與國外的食材形成融合。

所以每隔幾年，外交部都會來蘇州、揚州這些淮揚菜的核心區(qū)域挑廚師。胥城大廈那幾年做出了點名氣，又是國企背景，潘小敏本人便成了外交部挑選廚師的備選對象。

潘小敏還記得那次面試的考題：2000元成本，十分鐘內開出4張完全不一樣、但要適合各種人口味的菜單。

“我寫完，考官認真讀了一遍，告訴我筆試通過，讓我在4張菜單里挑一張，第二天把它燒出來。我記得我當時做了一道‘蝶戀花的涼菜，用江浙習慣的醬油和糖調味的油爆蝦，開背成蝴蝶的形狀圍成一圈，再用蛋糕脫模做成花擺在盤子中心，這就是詩詞里的‘蝶戀花?！?/p>

讓潘小敏感到意外的是，當他把涼菜端上桌，正準備做第一道熱菜“蟹黃扒翅”時，考官通知說：不用做了?！拔覈樍艘惶?，以為哪里犯了錯，畢竟是去駐外大使館工作，萬里挑一也是正常的。沒想到，考官說：‘你已經通過了，一道菜就看到功力了?！?/p>

潘小敏后來才知道，只有面試時被考官特別認可的，才被派到美、俄、法、英等國家。因為這些國家的外交活動多，外賓接待規(guī)格高，相應的，主廚的壓力也大。

尤其是法國，法餐在世界飲食中的地位就不用說了，很多國家甚至國宴都照搬法餐，比如日本和早期的美國。中國作為文化之邦，在法國本土設宴，餐食上當然要彰顯自己源遠流長的飲食文化，但也要讓各國外賓都能接受。

“有時候我會和朋友開玩笑：我給自己挑了一副那么重的擔子，早知如此，當初面試就不發(fā)揮全力了?！迸诵∶粽f。

赴法：希拉克贈紅酒表示贊賞

1997年7月14日，潘小敏坐上飛往巴黎的飛機，他的第一個任務是籌備中國駐法大使館“八一”建軍節(jié)招待會。

“到大使館是下午5點多，我當時奇怪，怎么街上都沒有人？和想象中繁華的巴黎不太一樣。還沒來得及感嘆，大使館的同事讓我吃了點餃子當晚飯，就拉我去戴高樂廣場了。哇，全城的人都在這里，吹號、打鼓、跳舞、放煙花——原來，那天是法國國慶日?！被貞浀桨屠璧牡谝惶?，潘小敏記憶猶新。

大使館的工作并不經常有這樣的熱鬧看，更多時候，只是住處和使館廚房兩點一線。除了日常準備工作餐外，潘小敏最重要的工作，就是將本地食材和中餐技藝結合起來，燒出地道的中國風味，為大型接待作準備。

雖然潘小敏不懂法語，英語也只有入門水平，但為了得到最好的成菜效果，他還是跟著大使館的采購人員一起去市場里選擇食材。法國的食材有個特點：大。不管魚肉雞鴨，還是蔬菜水果，都比國內的厚實。所以處理的時候也會有差別。比如腌漬的時間要更長，切工要更細，炒菜時的油溫也要調整。

“這些說起來簡單，其實都需要一點點摸索，失之毫厘，味道就差之千里?！?/p>

半個月后，建軍節(jié)招待會如期舉行，潘小敏主持設計的外賓場的菜單，獲得了好評。雖然看起來是一桌正宗的中餐，但其實參考外賓的口味，融合了不少西餐的做法?！氨热玺~排和鴨肉都是去骨的;五香鴨脯和炒面也減輕了口味，不放辣椒;大蝦雖然是中式炸蝦的做法，但去了殼，裹上面包屑油炸，再配上吐司，就很符合外賓的口味;烤牛肉看起來很西式，其實用醬油、生姜、蔥白腌制過，配菜也是很中式的香菇、青椒，最大限度地在外賓熟悉的范圍里體現中餐之美?！?/p>

最讓潘小敏難忘的是，在那次招待會上，他第一次見到了吳建民大使夫婦。“吳大使很和藹，拍了拍我的肩膀說：‘小潘，不要小看在大使館做菜，外交無小事，每一道菜都是國家的臉面?！?/p>

潘小敏說，那一刻，是他學廚幾十年里最有成就感的時刻。

在駐法大使館，潘小敏一直工作了四年半，主持了220場宴席，包括國慶招待會、春節(jié)招待會。

但問起印象最深刻的事，潘小敏提起了他去時任法國總統(tǒng)的希拉克家里下廚的經歷?！澳鞘且蛔喟屠枇邆€小時車程的古堡，給人感覺特別神秘。當時希拉克邀請我們國家時任領導人去他家里做客，我陪同去的原因是為中方吃不慣西餐的人員做一點中餐?！?/p>

希拉克看到中方人員在吃中餐，他愉快地表示也想嘗嘗?！敖o外國元首做菜，這可是一個廚師夢寐以求的。我攜帶的食材不多，只做了四菜一湯，可把壓箱底的功夫都使出來了?！?/p>

潘小敏做的四道菜是紅燒肉、八寶鴨、迎賓蝦、煎魚排，湯是川菜里的翠汁雞豆花。希拉克吃得很高興，一個勁豎大拇指;潘小敏也很高興，自己的廚藝得到了外國元首的肯定。

第二天早上，潘小敏起來準備中式早餐。正忙的時候，希拉克忽然走進廚房，來和他聊天?！跋＠水敃r還帶了兩瓶紅酒和一塊羊奶酪，表示要跟我一起喝酒。翻譯告訴我，一起喝酒是法國人表達喜愛或感謝的意思，應該是總統(tǒng)先生很喜歡我昨天做的晚餐?！?/p>

但公務在身，潘小敏只能對希拉克說：“總統(tǒng)先生，對不起，我們有規(guī)定，工作時不能喝酒?！毕＠艘脖硎纠斫?，并很大方地把兩瓶紅酒送給了他。

后來，潘小敏按規(guī)定上交紅酒，通情達理的辦公室領導讓他留下一瓶做紀念?！斑@瓶紅酒后來一直被我藏在家里，前幾年我兒子結婚，我把它當作禮物送給了兒子。知道這事的親戚們都說：老潘，這瓶酒變成你們家傳家寶了?！?/p>

2001年初，潘小敏回國，參加北京申辦奧運會的接待班子，應對頻繁的外交宴席。申奧成功后，外交部有意派他去中國駐美大使館，但當時潘小敏母親的身體不好，兒子也面臨高考?！拔彝馀赡敲炊嗄?，沒能好好照顧家里，內心挺愧疚的。我就表達了個人意愿，沒有去美國，領導也尊重我的選擇，讓我回到胥城大廈，一直擔任行政總廚直到退休?！?/p>

踏上回蘇州列車的那天，正好距離潘小敏第一次飛巴黎六年零一個月。

（本文圖片由潘小敏提供）

Pan Xiaomin：A Master Chef of Suzhou

By Wei Shuihua

The most brilliant chapter of Pan Xiaomins chef career is the years from 1997 to 2001 he worked at Chinese embassy in Paris. In these years， he prepared 220 banquets at the embassy and beyond.

Born in 1951， Pan himself is not sure whether he was born to be a chef. In his memory of childhood years， he remembers enjoying candied dried fruits produced from his parents business. In good old days， such dried and sugared fruits were used as Spring Festival gifts for relatives and friends. They often came in finely wrapped packs. Pan was deeply impressed by the look of the finely sugared fruits. Many years later， he says that his passion for fine-looking dishes he cooks can go back to his earliest memory of the sugared fruits.

Another memory of his childhood years is about the fine balance a chef must make. A cook hired by his parents could do a lot of traditional dishes in Suzhou style. The boy watched closely when the cook prepared luxury dishes for family reunion dinner on the eve of the Spring Festival. When he says the best chefs seek a flavor that appeals to the majority he is thinking about the family cook who made the best balance in the dishes he cooked.

In 1968， the 17-year-old Pan Xiaomin went to work at Kunshan where he worked as apprentice at the kitchen of Kunshan Restaurant. A trainee usually spent three years to learn skills and master expertise. He worked hard from five oclock in the morning till 9 oclock in the evening. It took him one and half a year to graduate from the trainee program. In 1977， he came back to Suzhou and worked at a timber processing factory. About nine years， he stayed away from kitchen. However， he was asked back to work at the restaurant of Xuecheng Tower in 1986. He rose fast in the kitchen. In 1992 he became its executive chef.

Pan Xiaomin comments that the job enabled him to master all the work of a restaurant kitchen， for example， how to design a menu for a banquet， how to prepare a banquet for several hundreds or even over 1，000 guests， how to minimize waste and best use food ingredients， how to develop new dishes， and hw to excite and satisfy the curiosity of diners， and how to seek greatest profitability without employing additional hands or increasing costs.

All this led him to be chosen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1997. It is widely known that the ministry prefers chefs who can cook in the style of Huaiyang Cuisine， a culinary art that emerged and consummated in Jiangsu， can integrate other culinary styles. That year， recruiters from the ministry came to Suzhou and Yangzhou， the home region of the Huaiyang Cuisine， to find chefs for Chinese embassies. Pan Xiaomin was on the list of candidates. The test was simple： design four totally different menus within ten minutes for a banquet within a 2，000-yuan budget （it was a fortune back then）. He designed four menus within ten minutes. The examiners read the menus and said he passed the written exam. The next day， he was asked to prepare all the dishes from one of the four menus he designed. He was stopped after he made the first dish on the menu. He was scared a little bit， thinking he had failed. The examiners explained that he passed and one course showed his skills and expertise.

He was sent to Chinas embassy in Paris. He learned later that chefs highly appreciated by examiners in tests and interviews would be sent to important embassies such as ones in the UK， the USA， France， and Russia， for chefs at the embassies there see a heavier workload as there are more diplomatic events and activities. Years later， Pan joked to his friends that he regretted performing so excellently at the examination or he wouldnt have got such responsibilities for preparing important banquets at the embassy.

He arrived at the embassy on July 14， 1997， the national day of France. His first important assignment was to make a reception at the embassy on the Army Day， celebrated on August 1 in commemoration of the founding of the Peoples Libration Army in 1927.

The banquet Pan Xiaomin designed for foreign guests who came to the reception was a huge success. Though it was made in typical Chinese style， the new chef modified the cooking and ingredients so that the dishes appealled to the guests. Chinese ambassador Wu Jianmin went out of his way to meet and praise Pan for his brilliant performance. Pan recalls he felt hugely proud at that moment. His most impressive assignment in France was cooking at French President Jacques Chiracs castle home. The French President Jacques Chirac received the visiting Chinese Premier at home. Pan tagged along to prepare Chinese dishes for some Chinese visitors who， not accustomed to western-styled food， preferred Chinese food. After seeing the Chinese dishes consumed by Chinese visitors， President Chirac said he wanted to try Chinese food. Pan prepared four dishes and one soup. The French President liked the Chinese food very much. The next morning， the President came to the kitchen to express his appreciation of Pans brilliant work and gave him two bottles of wine and a pack of cheese as gifts. A few years ago， Pan gave one bottle of wine from the French President to his son as a gift when the junior got married.

In early 2001， Pan Xiaomin came back to China and was engaged to prepare banquets for international visitors when China was going all out to get the approval for hosting the Olympic Games in 2008. After the success of the application in July， the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked if he would like to work at the Chinese embassy in the United States. Pan declined the offer， saying his mother was in poor health and his son was about to attend the national college entrance examination. Six years and one month after his flight to Paris， Pan boarded a train back to Suzhou. He resumed working as executive chef at the restaurant at Xucheng Tower until he retired.