Secret to Success in a Restaurant

By You Jin [Singapore]

One day, I went to a French restaurant for lunch. Located in Bogota, the capital of Colombia,this very special and charming restaurant was only open from 11 am to 4 pm, six days a week.

Eric, the owner of the restaurant, who knew the psychology of the customers quite well, created his own menus and dishes and cooked them carefully.You can sit at the counter and enjoy the food while chatting with him freely. Eric said, “We all know that writing, painting, music, and dance are parts of the arts. In fact,cooking is a more comprehensive art, a mixture of vision, taste,smell, and touch. Serving a dish is like presenting a piece of fine art.How can a chef take it lightly?”

A small blackboard hanging at the counter lists the menu from Monday to Saturday. The restaurant only provides three different dishes per day, and the menu is changed once a week.There is no identical menu in a 6-month period.

Eric said with confidence, “We only provide a few dishes each day, so that the chefs can make them perfect. What we are trying to achieve is to make our cuisine unforgettable even if customers only have it once.”

It was Wednesday, and there were four dishes on the blackboard: “Pumpkin soup,braised pork, sausage with sauerkraut, grilled salmon.”

Eric said with a smile, “Other restaurants mostly take beef and chicken as the main ingredients.We choose pork and fish instead,and create thousands of different dishes.”

We ordered the three dishes and one soup. Unexpectedly, Eric shook his head and said to us earnestly, “That's too much for you two. Each of you just needs to order one dish.”

When the chef handed the braised pork to Eric, he stopped talking, and concentrated on decorating the dish. He carefully placed the braised pork on the golden mashed potatoes, and then added purple eggplant,orange carrot, green long beans,and light brown mushrooms.The dish turned colorful, like a garden filled with the brightness of spring. The light aroma was like a mist, lingering around my nose.I suddenly felt extremely hungry.The seemingly common braised pork was quite delicious. The soft fat seemed to be melting, and the lean meat was smooth, delicate,and chewy. It was amazing that such a small piece of meat had such a rich taste.

Sausage with sauerkraut was another wonderful dish. The cabbage had been sealed in a jar for three weeks before it was taken out. The sour taste was just right. The sauerkraut was simmered with a first-class white wine. The mellow wine flavor mingled with the mild sourness,creating a remarkable taste. The dish combining the sauerkraut with the well-seasoned sausage was just unbelievable!

Why was the restaurant providing such tempting cuisine only open for lunch?

Eric told us, “Whatever business you are in, you need to balance work and rest. If the chef gets tired, he will probably fail to keep making satisfactory dishes.Our team also needs time to develop new cuisine.”

Although Eric's restaurant is a small one, his philosophy of business and life is thoughtprovoking. The secret to his success is actually simple:sincerity.

(From The Forgotten Paradise,Haitian Publishing House.Translation: Chen Jiani)

秘 诀

文/ [新加坡]尤今

那天中午，去一家法国餐馆吃饭。这家餐馆在哥伦比亚首都波哥大极具个性与魅力，一周只开六天，每天从中午十一点到下午四点营业。

餐馆老板艾力深谙待客之道，他自创菜肴，用心烹制。你可以坐在柜台边，一边让美食游走于齿颊间，一边和他海阔天空地聊天。艾力侃侃而谈：“世人只知道写作、绘画、音乐、舞蹈是艺术，其实烹饪更是一门综合性的艺术，它是视觉、味觉、嗅觉、触觉四者的圆融结合。一盘食物上桌，无异于呈献一款精美艺术品，厨师又哪能掉以轻心呢？”

柜台旁挂着一个小黑板，写着由周一到周六的菜谱。餐馆每天只推出三种不同的菜谱，菜单每周更换一次，半年内绝不重复。

艾力信心十足地说：“菜品少，厨师便可以把菜肴做得尽善尽美。我们希望达到的境界是，认顾客吃一次，记一世。”

今天是星期三，黑板上写着四个菜：“南瓜汤、焖猪肉、酸菜肉肠、烤三文鱼。”

艾力微笑着说：“其他餐馆，多以牛肉和鸡肉作为主打食材。我们选用猪肉和鱼类，变幻出与众不同的万千菜肴。”

三菜一汤我们就都点了。没想到，艾力竟然摇了摇头，恳切地说：“太多了，吃不完的。你俩只要各点一样，就够了。”

厨师把焖猪肉递给艾力后就不说话了，只专心做他的盘饰。他小心翼翼地把焖猪肉搁在金黄色的土豆泥上面，配上紫色的茄子、红色的萝卜、翠绿的长豆、淡褐的蘑菇。色彩丰富，仿佛春天满园春色；而那轻轻柔柔如雾的香气，似有脚，娉娉婷婷地徘徊于鼻端。饥饿的感觉立刻变得穷凶极恶。这表面上看似淡定的焖猪肉，内里却充满了暴烈的激情，肥肉将融未融、酥软销魂，瘦肉却充满了光滑精致的弹力；小小一块肉，有着百转千回的丰富滋味。

酸菜肉肠又是另一幅好风景。包菜放在坛子内密封长达三周，取出，酸味正好，用上好的白酒慢火熬煮。甘醇的酒味和柔和的酸味交融在一起，形成了一种绚烂的风情。以它搭配千锤百炼的肉肠，那种感觉，只能用“艳丽”两个字形容。

菜肴如此诱人的餐馆，却只做中午的生意，为什么呢？

艾力说：“不管从事什么行业，都得劳逸结合呀。厨师一累，便可能失手，做出遗憾的菜肴。我们的工作团队也需要时间好好地研发新菜式呀。”

艾力经营的是一家小餐馆，可是，他却有着许多发人深省的经营哲学和处世之道。秘诀其实是简简单单的两个字：诚意。

（摘自《被人遗忘的天堂》海天出版社）