作为一名厨师，我是快乐的

by Yannick Chauvet

翻译：大师

作为一名厨师，我是快乐的

by Yannick Chauvet

翻译：大师

Track 5

这是一名厨师对自身职业的自白。虽然成为厨师的过程很艰辛，但在他看来，这一切都是值得的。厨师这份职业对于作者而言，早就不仅仅是一份工作了，它已融入作者生活中的点点滴滴。能通过自己的双手让更多人品尝到美食并感受到快乐，这何尝不是一种幸福呢？

1)As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a2)chef. To me, being a chef was better than being anything else in the world. I don’t know why, because neither of my parents were good cooks at home. We never went to the restaurant together and my first time was in Narbonne注with one of my aunts. Though with no backgrounds, the desire to become a chef was deeply in my mind.

I was warned that it would be difficult, that it was very hard work with long hours, and that it was stressful and tiring. I still remember my English teacher3)claiming, in front of the whole classroom, that I would never ever manage to survive in this work.

But I did it, and I’m still working as a chef. I lived in a country I always wanted to go—Ireland. I’ve seen different kinds of people with different social classes. I had friends from all over the world. I worked in good restaurants as well as average ones.

So now I’m forty. I’ve been working as a chef since I was sixteen, and I don’t regret my choice. Even if it’s not such an easy job, it’s not the worst, either.

I would encourage my children to cook at home. I would teach them how to enjoy food, how to choose quality over quantity, and how to4)appreciate great food. In fact, I would teach them how to appreciate the good things in life. But I would never push them to choose my job.

Not everything is that bad. I love my job. I love to cook for others, I love to create new dishes, new menus. I love the5)atmosphere in a kitchen, the fun with the6)wait staff, the nights out with everybody. I also love the stress during a service.

And my wife will be happy ’cause when I’m off and she comes back from work, dinner is ready.

It’s worth it. After all these years of hard work, I would still not change if I could go back to the past.

1) as far back as 早在，远在

2) chef [ʃef] n. 主厨，厨师

3) claim [kleɪm] v. 断言，声称

4) appreciate [ə'priːʃɪeɪt] v. 品味，欣赏

5) atmosphere ['ætməsfɪə] n. 气氛

6) wait staff 餐厅服务员

注：纳博讷，法国南部的一个市镇。

参考译文

自打记事起，我就一直想成为一名厨师。对我来说，成为一名厨师是世界上最棒的事。我也不知道为什么，毕竟我的父母在家中都不是烹饪高手，我们也从来没有一起去过餐馆。我第一次去餐馆还是在纳博讷，那是和我的一个阿姨一起去的。虽然没有相关的背景，但成为一名厨师的念头已深深地扎根在我的脑海中。

大家都告诫我说，成为厨师的路会很难走，厨师是一份十分艰苦的工作，工作时间长且工作压力大，会令人感到疲惫。我仍旧记得，我的英语老师曾当着全班同学的面声称，我永远都无法把厨师的工作一直坚持下去。

但我还是成为了一名厨师，而且坚持到了现在。我定居在了爱尔兰—一个我一直都向往的国度。我见到了形形色色各界各级的人。我的朋友也来自世界各地。我既在顶级餐厅工作过，也曾在普通的饭馆里待过。

那么我现在40岁了，我是从16岁就开始做厨师的，而我并不后悔自己的选择。即使它不是一份容易的工作，它也不是最糟糕的工作。

我会鼓励我的孩子在家做饭。我也会教他们该如何享受美食，如何去注重食物的品质而不是份量，以及如何去品尝美食。事实上，我就想教会他们如何欣赏生活中美好的事物，但我永远不会逼迫他们成为一名厨师。

不是所有事情都那么糟糕的。我热爱我的工作。我喜欢为别人做美食，我喜欢创造新的菜肴、新的菜单。我喜欢厨房的氛围，喜欢与餐厅服务员共度欢乐时光，享受与每个人共度的夜晚。我同样喜欢着这份职业给我带来的压力。

我的妻子也很高兴，因为每当我休息时，她一下班回来，晚餐就已经准备好了。

这一切都是值得的。经过了这些年的努力，就算有机会可以让我回到过去，我也不会改变我的选择。

Being a Chef