希拉克对他的厨艺竖起大拇指

魏水华

潘小敏做的四道菜是红烧肉、八宝鸭、迎宾虾、煎鱼排，汤是川菜里的翠汁鸡豆花。希拉克吃得很高兴，一个劲竖大拇指;潘小敏也很高兴，自己的厨艺得到了肯定。

最近，法国、意大利的街景频频见诸电视和报端。潘小敏记忆里那个法国又鲜活了起来。

这位曾经在中华人民共和国驻法兰西大使馆担任主厨的厨界大师，在法国工作了5年，并游历了阿尔及利亚、荷兰、比利时、卢森堡、奥地利、意大利、希腊等十几个国家，传播中国饮食文化。他说，希望友善的法国人能够早日战胜疫情，希望大家都能在同一片蓝天下，享受美食带来的快乐。

入厨：一年半便能出师掌勺

1951年10月，潘小敏生于苏州。他父母以前是开蜜饯厂的，江浙人嗜甜，蜜饯做得精致、漂亮，家家户户逢年过节必备。这些精致的蜜饯，最早培养了他对中餐“色香味形”中“形”的概念。

家里有四个孩子，父母平日要经营蜜饯厂，所以雇了人照顾潘小敏四兄妹。他说，记得家里帮佣的手艺很好，会做很多传统苏州菜，比如从前苏州人过年必备的“三件子”。

“三件子”是老式苏菜的做法。准备一个大砂锅，把全鸡、全鸭、全蹄膀放进去一起炖，看起来简单，但吃的是细功夫。烹饪过程中要调整火候、撇沫、加盐，还要注意食材的先后顺序。没有经验的厨师将这些食材一股脑地炖，往往鸡已经烂了，鸭还不行;蹄膀出油多，很多人不喜欢，但如果油撇得太干净，又显得汤色不行。

这些传统菜给潘小敏的启发很大。他说：“当厨师和做人本质上是一样的，要会处理矛盾，找到一个最佳平衡点，也就是大家都能接受的味道。很多人认为名厨有什么独门秘诀，但我常常对徒弟说：众口难调，追求小众秘方，一定有人喜欢，有人不喜欢。不管什么菜系，创新的基础都是对传统菜式的融会贯通，有传承的创新，才能皆大欢喜。”

1968年，17岁的潘小敏去了昆山巴城镇。在这个盛产阳澄湖螃蟹的小镇，潘小敏待了3年。在这期间，他机缘巧合进入了当时的昆山饭店，开始学厨。他从打荷和水台做起。打荷，就是给炉灶师傅打杂;水台，则是为切配师傅打下手。

潘小敏年纪轻、动作快，炉灶大师傅和切配大师傅都喜欢他。不仅如此，潘小敏还好学，当时饭店的厨师是两班倒，切配师傅早班，炉灶师傅晚班，潘小敏就两边跟着学，从早上5点一直干到晚上9点，一天干两个人的活。一般厨房学徒要干满三年才能出师，然而仅仅一年半以后，潘小敏就已经可以出师掌勺了。

1977年，潘小敏回到苏州，进入物资局下属木材加工厂做后勤科办事员。但做厨师就像是他的宿命。1986年，物资局下属的“胥城大厦”开张，负责后勤的潘小敏又被调去酒店餐饮部，回到了老本行。一路担任炉灶领班、切配领班，到1992年，他终于升级为胥城大厦的行政总厨。

在潘小敏看来，行政总厨更考验自己厨房管理、菜式研发这些宏观能力。“比如准备几百、上千人的宴席，怎么排菜单，怎么保证热菜、冷菜都以最佳温度和状态上桌，怎么最少浪费和最大利用率地采购食材，怎么开发新菜，在满足食客的新奇感和不增加厨房人力成本之间平衡。”他说。

这些履历，奠定了他后来赴法工作的基础。

考试：十分钟内开4张菜单

1997年，外交部在苏州挑选驻外大使馆的厨师，邀潘小敏去报名。

代表国家门面的国宴，一直有以淮扬菜为底子，加入其他菜系所长的传统。这不仅因为淮扬菜口味平和，能被大多数外宾接受，还因为淮扬菜讲究“粗菜细做”。另外，淮扬菜的刀工是四大菜系里最讲究的，和重调味的川菜、重本味的粤菜、重火候的鲁菜都不一样，比较符合中国传统士大夫的审美，也能与国外的食材形成融合。

所以每隔几年，外交部都会来苏州、扬州这些淮扬菜的核心区域挑厨师。胥城大厦那几年做出了点名气，又是国企背景，潘小敏本人便成了外交部挑选厨师的备选对象。

潘小敏还记得那次面试的考题：2000元成本，十分钟内开出4张完全不一样、但要适合各种人口味的菜单。

“我写完，考官认真读了一遍，告诉我笔试通过，让我在4张菜单里挑一张，第二天把它烧出来。我记得我当时做了一道‘蝶恋花的凉菜，用江浙习惯的酱油和糖调味的油爆虾，开背成蝴蝶的形状围成一圈，再用蛋糕脱模做成花摆在盘子中心，这就是诗词里的‘蝶恋花。”

让潘小敏感到意外的是，当他把凉菜端上桌，正准备做第一道热菜“蟹黄扒翅”时，考官通知说：不用做了。“我吓了一跳，以为哪里犯了错，毕竟是去驻外大使馆工作，万里挑一也是正常的。没想到，考官说：‘你已经通过了，一道菜就看到功力了。”

潘小敏后来才知道，只有面试时被考官特别认可的，才被派到美、俄、法、英等国家。因为这些国家的外交活动多，外宾接待规格高，相应的，主厨的压力也大。

尤其是法國，法餐在世界饮食中的地位就不用说了，很多国家甚至国宴都照搬法餐，比如日本和早期的美国。中国作为文化之邦，在法国本土设宴，餐食上当然要彰显自己源远流长的饮食文化，但也要让各国外宾都能接受。

“有时候我会和朋友开玩笑：我给自己挑了一副那么重的担子，早知如此，当初面试就不发挥全力了。”潘小敏说。

赴法：希拉克赠红酒表示赞赏

1997年7月14日，潘小敏坐上飞往巴黎的飞机，他的第一个任务是筹备中国驻法大使馆“八一”建军节招待会。

“到大使馆是下午5点多，我当时奇怪，怎么街上都没有人？和想象中繁华的巴黎不太一样。还没来得及感叹，大使馆的同事让我吃了点饺子当晚饭，就拉我去戴高乐广场了。哇，全城的人都在这里，吹号、打鼓、跳舞、放烟花——原来，那天是法国国庆日。”回忆到巴黎的第一天，潘小敏记忆犹新。

大使馆的工作并不经常有这样的热闹看，更多时候，只是住处和使馆厨房两点一线。除了日常准备工作餐外，潘小敏最重要的工作，就是将本地食材和中餐技艺结合起来，烧出地道的中国风味，为大型接待作准备。

雖然潘小敏不懂法语，英语也只有入门水平，但为了得到最好的成菜效果，他还是跟着大使馆的采购人员一起去市场里选择食材。法国的食材有个特点：大。不管鱼肉鸡鸭，还是蔬菜水果，都比国内的厚实。所以处理的时候也会有差别。比如腌渍的时间要更长，切工要更细，炒菜时的油温也要调整。

“这些说起来简单，其实都需要一点点摸索，失之毫厘，味道就差之千里。”

半个月后，建军节招待会如期举行，潘小敏主持设计的外宾场的菜单，获得了好评。虽然看起来是一桌正宗的中餐，但其实参考外宾的口味，融合了不少西餐的做法。“比如鱼排和鸭肉都是去骨的;五香鸭脯和炒面也减轻了口味，不放辣椒;大虾虽然是中式炸虾的做法，但去了壳，裹上面包屑油炸，再配上吐司，就很符合外宾的口味;烤牛肉看起来很西式，其实用酱油、生姜、葱白腌制过，配菜也是很中式的香菇、青椒，最大限度地在外宾熟悉的范围里体现中餐之美。”

最让潘小敏难忘的是，在那次招待会上，他第一次见到了吴建民大使夫妇。“吴大使很和蔼，拍了拍我的肩膀说：‘小潘，不要小看在大使馆做菜，外交无小事，每一道菜都是国家的脸面。”

潘小敏说，那一刻，是他学厨几十年里最有成就感的时刻。

在驻法大使馆，潘小敏一直工作了四年半，主持了220场宴席，包括国庆招待会、春节招待会。

但问起印象最深刻的事，潘小敏提起了他去时任法国总统的希拉克家里下厨的经历。“那是一座距巴黎六七个小时车程的古堡，给人感觉特别神秘。当时希拉克邀请我们国家时任领导人去他家里做客，我陪同去的原因是为中方吃不惯西餐的人员做一点中餐。”

希拉克看到中方人员在吃中餐，他愉快地表示也想尝尝。“给外国元首做菜，这可是一个厨师梦寐以求的。我携带的食材不多，只做了四菜一汤，可把压箱底的功夫都使出来了。”

潘小敏做的四道菜是红烧肉、八宝鸭、迎宾虾、煎鱼排，汤是川菜里的翠汁鸡豆花。希拉克吃得很高兴，一个劲竖大拇指;潘小敏也很高兴，自己的厨艺得到了外国元首的肯定。

第二天早上，潘小敏起来准备中式早餐。正忙的时候，希拉克忽然走进厨房，来和他聊天。“希拉克当时还带了两瓶红酒和一块羊奶酪，表示要跟我一起喝酒。翻译告诉我，一起喝酒是法国人表达喜爱或感谢的意思，应该是总统先生很喜欢我昨天做的晚餐。”

但公务在身，潘小敏只能对希拉克说：“总统先生，对不起，我们有规定，工作时不能喝酒。”希拉克也表示理解，并很大方地把两瓶红酒送给了他。

后来，潘小敏按规定上交红酒，通情达理的办公室领导让他留下一瓶做纪念。“这瓶红酒后来一直被我藏在家里，前几年我儿子结婚，我把它当作礼物送给了儿子。知道这事的亲戚们都说：老潘，这瓶酒变成你们家传家宝了。”

2001年初，潘小敏回国，参加北京申办奥运会的接待班子，应对频繁的外交宴席。申奥成功后，外交部有意派他去中国驻美大使馆，但当时潘小敏母亲的身体不好，儿子也面临高考。“我外派那么多年，没能好好照顾家里，内心挺愧疚的。我就表达了个人意愿，没有去美国，领导也尊重我的选择，让我回到胥城大厦，一直担任行政总厨直到退休。”

踏上回苏州列车的那天，正好距离潘小敏第一次飞巴黎六年零一个月。

（本文图片由潘小敏提供）

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.