self-sacrifice

自我犧牲。

I left Virginia to come to L.A. because there's a certain energy that

我離開維吉尼亞來到洛杉磯，因為這裡有某種能量能夠轉化到食物上，而我在其他地方還不曾見過。

translates to the food scene here that I haven't found anywhere else.

I work at Mélisse, which is a 2 Michelin star French fine-dining restaurant in Santa Monica, California,

我在米其林 2 星的法式餐廳 Mélisse 工作，位於加州聖塔莫尼卡，是洛杉磯最好的餐廳之一。

and it's one of the best restaurants in L.A.

Working on the line in the kitchen is like composing a symphony.

在廚房裡工作的成敗就像在譜一首交響曲。

It really is.

真的是。

It's almost like each dish is like, one is the violins, one is the cello, one is the keyboard, and another is the drums.

每一道菜幾乎都像是 - 就像，一個是小提琴、 一個是大提琴、一個是電子琴還有另一個是鼓。

My first job in the kitchen was when I was 16.

我第一次進廚房工作是 16 歲的時候。

I was a dishwasher.

我是洗碗的。

And that was before I even knew I wanted to cook.

那是在我知道自己想當廚師之前。

I was just a kid looking for a job.

我只是一個在找份工作的孩子。

After I started working there and just seeing something simple as salad being plated, it kind of drew me in.

自從我開始在那裡工作後，我見識到像沙拉這樣簡單的菜式是如何被擺盤的，那有點吸引我。

I'm like, I'll say this is pretty amazing.

我覺得這真的很了不起。

As sous-chef at Mélisse, I have to go to the farmer's market first thing in the morning,

作為 Mélisse 的副主廚，我早上必須先去農夫市場進貨、回到餐廳、分配給員工，接著我們就開始準備。

pick up produce, go back to the restaurant, disperse it to the staff, and then we start prepping.

We have to get fish deboned, tomatoes concasséd, sauces simmering.

我們需要把魚去骨、把番茄切碎、把醬汁燉好。

All this has to ready before service at 6 o'clock.

這些全要在 6 點開始營業前完成。

Fire, menu prawns, menu truffle pasta, two menu seasonal, followed by menu duck: medium rare.

開火，明蝦套餐、松露義大利麵套餐、兩份當季特餐和一份鴨肉套餐 - 三分熟。

Yes, Chef.

是，主廚。

Working in the kitchen is one of the hardest jobs I've had in my life.

在廚房上班是我這一生做過最辛苦的工作。

You're under this, like, constant stress.

你一直處在壓力下。

And on top of that, you're working long hours, you're on your feet all day.

除此之外，工時很長、整天都站著。

And it's just completely physically and mentally straining.

這完全會造成生理上和心理上的緊繃。

And most people can't handle it.

而大部分人都受不了。

But I love it.

但我很喜歡。

See how beautiful that looks? Then we sear it off nicely.

你看這樣多好看？然後我們好好地煎它。

It also protects halibut being so delicate.

這也可以防止比目魚變太軟。

It helps protect the flesh.

可以保護魚肉。

Chef Josiah Citrin is one of the most renowned and respected chefs in L.A.

Josiah Citrin 主廚是洛杉磯最知名、最受尊敬的廚師之一。

And it was only natural that I'd wanna come work for him.

所以我想來他這裡工作是再自然不過的事。

He's almost like the epitome of an old-school French chef relocated in the U.S.

他就像是搬到美國的典型傳統法國主廚。

He has that passion, that drive, and intensity that you come to expect from great chefs like himself.

他所擁有的熱忱、幹勁還有投入是你會期待在像他這樣厲害的大廚身上看到的。

One day I was in the kitchen, and I was scrambling eggs, and this memory kicked back to me, about,

有一天我在廚房炒蛋的時候，突然有個回憶湧上來，是關於我奶奶在我小的時候教我如何正確地炒蛋。

from my grandmother, and how she taught me how to properly scramble eggs when I was a little kid.

And she was explaining how you use a spoon to stir it and cook it really gently so that the texture comes out nice.

她跟我解釋如何用湯匙攪拌，要非常地溫柔，這樣炒出來的口感才會好。

And it's actually a classical French way of cooking and I have a Southern grandmother.

這其實是典型的法式料理方式，但我奶奶是南方人。

It was kind of weird.

這還挺奇怪的。

And, it was like little moments like that, that I think back that kind of directed me to cooking that I didn't really realize until now.

我覺得，感覺就是這些短暫的片刻，把我導向了烹飪這條路，而我一直到現在才察覺到。

If you wanna be a chef, you can't wait around for someone to hand it to you.

如果你想當一個廚師，你不能只是在那裡乾等著別人給你機會。

You almost have to take it.

你必須自己去爭取。

Hosting pop-up dinners has given me and my friend Gary a chance to not only showcase our skills,

舉辦快閃晚宴不僅給了我和我朋友 Gary 一個能夠展現我們技巧的機會，更讓我們有機會做我們一直以來被訓練做的事：一名廚師。

but to do what we were trained to do, be a chef.

For the oyster dish, I was thinking, right, we have those nice clear bowls.

生蠔這道菜，我在想，我們有一些很不錯的透明碗。

We'll put the garnish in the middle and then pour the gazpacho so it comes like two thirds of the way up.

我們把配菜放在中間，然後把西班牙冷湯倒到三分之二滿。

I brought a fish tank bubbler, and instead of making foam with the frother, let's do bubbles.

我帶了一個魚缸用的打氣機。我們來製造泡泡，取代用起泡劑做泡沫。

- And we'll just drop right that on top. - Exactly.

- 我們就把泡泡滴在上面。- 沒錯。

I just want to thank everyone for coming out tonight.

我想感謝大家今晚來到這。

As you know, we're just cooks when it boils down to it.

你們也知道，歸根結底我們就只是廚師。

That's our life.

這就是我們的生活。

This is what we do.

這就是我們要做的。

This is what we love to do on our free time.

這就是我們在空閒時間喜歡做的事。

We just spent our last few off days preparing this for you, and we had a lot of fun doing it.

我們花了過去幾個休假日為你們準備這頓晚餐，而我們在過程中也得到很多樂趣。

So, cheers to the night!

所以，敬這個夜晚。

Thank you, Chef!

謝謝大廚！

I always have this sense of satisfaction and almost comfort in knowing that something I served pleased someone else.

知道我端出的東西讓別人感到開心，總是讓我有一種滿足感，甚至是寬慰。

And I think that's what most cooks thrive on.

而我想這也是大部分廚師茁壯的養分。