11岁起就在世界顶级餐厅学习创意料理的Blake，身上最明显的特质就是“不按常理出牌”。 他会用蜂蜜做豆腐乳的调味汁，会用烤焦的甜椒拌皮蛋，厨余剩下的柠檬皮会在他的手下变成美味的果酱。 他的料理常常出人意料，颠覆食客们熟知的菜肴搭配概念。在他的创造下，普通的食材常以不可思议的全新姿态和口味重生。
Blake started working in the world's top creative restaurant at the age of eleven, he is a wild card in more ways than one. Think fermented bean curd with honey, roast peppers with preserved eggs and food waste lemon skin as jam.
His cuisine surprises people with unusual shapes and crazy pairing combinations.
▌11岁开始的厨师生涯
"我小时候很迷滑板文化，11岁生日时，我想要一个冲浪板。我妈跟我开玩笑说，那我得去找份工作，然后。。。我就真的这么做了！“ Blake笑着跟我们说起了他主厨生涯的开始。 今年31岁的Blake，至今已有长达20年的厨师生涯。11岁时一个冲浪板意外的成就了如今获奖无数的名厨。 “厨房的生活艰苦，可怕，到处都是滚烫的东西，一不小心就会受伤。但同时也是有趣的” Blake谈起了他最初进入厨房时的感受。 当他最终得到那块冲浪板的时候，冲浪地已变成了那个热火朝天，到处都充斥着喊叫和各种厨具碰撞声的厨房。迎面而来的浪是厨房中各种防不胜防的挑战，艰苦但也令人兴奋，在不断练习后最终能驾驭住一切的感觉是无比有趣的。 他的好奇心在他开始学习做第一道菜时被打开。不同食物的搭配产生的不同味道，不同烹饪方式使食物呈现出的不同外观，都可在自己的手下随意变换。这对一个初入厨艺世界的孩子来说，是一种魔法，是他每天在厨房中呆十几个小时的巨大动力。在这种动力的驱使下，短短一年后Blake已能够做餐厅菜单上的每一道菜。 当时他工作的厨房属于那座城市数一数二的餐厅，餐厅里聚集了一群优秀的厨师。在这样的环境下他飞速成长，13岁时，Blake已开始参加各种国际厨艺比赛，14岁时他比赛得奖，奖品是去往芝加哥的Charlie Trotter餐厅，向餐厅创始人——被誉为重新定义了美国食物的料理开拓者——Charlie Trotter 学习三个月的创意料理。 Growing up in the wine region of Marlborough, New Zealand, young Blake got into cooking by accident. “I was a little skater punk back then and for my 11th birthday I wanted a surfboard. My mum jokingly told me to get a job instead, so I did!” He unsuspectingly began his culinary career washing dishes at Cellier le Brun, one of the most prestigious fine dining restaurants in the country. “Life in the kitchen is tough, scary, full of accidents waiting to happen. It’s very easy to get hurt if I’m not careful, but it’s also interesting.” Blake talked about how he felt when he first entered the kitchen. By the time he finally got his surfboard, the surfing venue had actually turned into a kitchen, full of shouting and clanging kitchen sounds. His curiosity was sparked when he created his very own first dish. The combinations of different ingredients created diverse flavors and different cooking methods, all created with his own imagination. It was magic for a kid who's just starting out in the culinary world. Driven by fascination, Blake was able to cook everything on the menu after just one year. Blake got good quick - working alongside and learning from the team of chefs at the restaurant. By the age of thirteen, he was competing in international cooking competitions. At the age of fourteen, he won a competition with a prize to go to Charlie Trotter's restaurant in Chicago to do an apprenticeship for three months!
▌在世界排名前30的餐厅里实习
Charlie Trotter，全球排名前30的高级餐厅，以菜肴的大胆创新和极具前瞻性的烹饪理念闻名。 上世纪80年代时，美国餐馆还主要以欧洲菜为主。餐馆的学徒，烹饪学校的学生们主要学习内容都源于古旧的法国菜谱，餐饮界以制作传统经典菜肴为导向，“创新菜”是从不曾存在过的词。 而当时在Charlie Trotter餐厅的菜单上，已能看到葱油饼这样对西方人来说极为新奇的食物。 现如今风靡全球的超级食物，藜麦，20年前就已是Charlie Trotter餐厅中某道菜的主要原料。许多厨师和食客第一次在Charlie Trotter的餐厅看到法罗茴香粉、日本辣椒-七味唐辛子、法罗群岛鲑鱼等闻所未闻的食材。在20年后的今天，这些食材已成为高档餐厅食客们最追捧的菜肴原料，而Charlie Trotter已经用这些食材烹饪多年了。 当14岁的Blake来到Charlie Trotter时，这家餐厅极其大胆和开创性的烹饪理念带给了他极大的冲击。闻所未闻的食材，与众不同的料理方式颠覆他以往他所学的全部知识，并将他的厨艺被带到了前所未有的高度。这对他之后的料理生涯带来了巨大影响，也是在这里Blake第一次接触到了创意料理。 Charlie Trotter is one of the top 30 fine dining restaurants in the world, it's known for its bold dishes and avant-garde style. Back in the 1980s, American restaurants primarily featured European cuisine. Culinary school students studied mostly traditional French recipes. The catering industry was oriented towards serving classic dishes. The idea of innovative cuisine never really existed. However, Charlie Trotter’s menu was ahead of the game featuring dishes like scallion pancake. Quinoa, now the world's most popular superfood, was the main ingredient in a dish at Charlie Trotter's restaurant 20 years ago. It is the first place where many cooks and diners encountered ingredients like farro, fennel pollen, togarashi, Faroe Islands salmon, and more that are now often on restaurant menus. In 2003, 14-year-old Blake came to Charlie Trotter's restaurant as an apprentice. The boldness and pioneering culinary concept of this restaurant blew his mind. Unheard-of ingredients, unique cooking methods overturned all he had learnt, and took his skills to an unprecedented level. This had a huge impact on his later career. It was at Charlie Trotter's restaurant that Blake first started his journey into creative cuisine.
▌十年印尼工作经历
结束三个月实习期后，Blake前往澳洲餐饮业发展，在一次为悉尼美食周做美食制作演示时候，他认识了Chris Salans。 Chris Salans是印尼最好的高级餐厅之一——Mozaic的创始人，当时他正想为他的餐厅觅色一位行政总厨。在见到Blake后，被Blake的才华所吸引，当即便邀请Blake前往巴厘岛的Mozaic担任行政总厨。 “Chris Salans 在悉尼找到我时，我对亚洲食材一无所知，我都不知道巴厘岛是哪里，”Blake说。“但我一直在寻找那些很酷、很新潮的食材，于是我决定试一下。” 当时的Blake才20岁出头，极为年轻。刚来到Mozaic时，人们都很惊讶这样一个看上去稚气未脱的大小伙能领导一个被列入世界顶级餐饮协会Grandes Tables du Monde榜单，在全球都有着知名盛誉的餐厅。 After his three month apprenticeship, Blake went to Australia. He met Chris Salans while doing a food production demonstration for Sydney Food Week. Chris Salans was the founder of Mozaic, one of Indonesia's best fine dining restaurants. Salans was looking for an Executive Chef for his restaurant, and he was instantly attracted by Blake's talent, he very quickly decided to ask Blake to be his Executive Chef. “When Chris Salans came to me in Sydney, I didn't know anything about Asian ingredients. I didn't even know where Bali was,” Blake said, “but I was always looking for something cool and forward-looking, so I decided to give it a try” When Blake joined Mozaic, he was in his early 20s. Being very young, people were surprised that such a young guy could lead a restaurant that has been listed in the world's top restaurant association.
Mozaic以融合亚洲和法国菜精华为特色，用印尼当地食材和法式烹饪方式来制作菜肴。 在Mozaic的菜单上你会看到，萝卜（turnip）和花菜可以搭配巧克力酱，冰糕里会放姜黄，巧克力里会放咖喱。这些很多人做梦也想不到的组合让Blake着了迷。 而Mozaic的另一个特别之处是餐厅被包围在一大片绿植中，并还独立拥有一个种满了各种天然香料的花园。这片花园对有着天马行空般想象力的Blake来说，简直就是乐园。 Mozaic features a fusion of Asian and French cuisine. Their dishes are made with local Indonesian ingredients using French cooking methods. On Mozaic’s menu, you can find unique dishes that couldn’t be imagined; such as turnip and cauliflower paired with chocolate sauce, turmeric in sorbet, and curry in chocolate. Blake was captivated. Mozaic restaurant is surrounded by green plants and it has a herb and spice garden which was a paradise for Blake seeking out new unique ingredients.
Blake带客人参观花园
在Mozaic，菜单上每周都会出现两三道新菜。而这取之不竭的创意都来自Blake对花园中食材的潜心钻研和开发。他会每天花4、5个小时研究来自花园中的植物香料，以很多人意想不到的方式进行搭配组合。 在Mozaic担任行政主厨的这些年，Blake的创造力得到了随心所欲的发挥。他做的菜肴让不管来自哪里的食客都觉得充满了异域风情。在他的料理世界里，食物不仅只是用于满足味蕾，更是一种奇幻世界的美妙体验。 At Mozaic, two or three new dishes are added to the menu every week. During his years at Mozai,c Blake was able to fully explore his potential freely. His dishes gave an exotic impression to people coming from all over the world. In Blake's world, food is not just for taste, it transforms the experiences into a culinary fantasy.
煎三文鱼配姜泥，胡萝卜，豆碎 & 由姜黄制成的冰糕由配罗勒叶制成的果冻 图片来自 Syafril Hendro (https://www.instagram.com/syafrilphoto/).
金枪鱼蛋筒配帕尔马干酪 & 鹅肝慕斯与青苹果和柠檬香草泡沫
Black在Mozaic餐厅中创作的各种精品菜肴
▌上海
在印尼工作了将近十年时，一位朋友的朋友找到了Blake。他来自中国贵州，在上海定居多年后，发现当时上海很多西餐厅普遍青睐于模仿西方的概念，餐饮界较少创新，缺乏自己的特色。他希望能通过Blake的创意为上海食客们带去一种全新的，前所未有的体验。 酷爱新事物和追求挑战的Blake答应了。在来到上海之前，Blake先去贵州开展了一段美食之旅。他走访了贵州山区的多个原始村庄，在那里他见到了各种从未见过的新奇食物，很多菜肴的独特料理方式也让他留下了深刻的印象。“贵州菜有趣极了”Blake兴奋的说到。 来到上海后，Blake在OHA cafe和Table Black担任行政总厨。这次，他将贵州食材，上海食材与西餐烹饪手法融合在一起，创造了一系列极为奇特美味的菜肴。 After working in Indonesia for nearly a decade, Blake was approached by a friend from Guizhou, China. After settling down in Shanghai for many years he discovered that many western restaurants in Shanghai at that time were imitating western concepts, also that the catering industry was not innovative and lacked its own characteristics. He hoped to bring a fresh and radical experience for Shanghai diners. As someone who is always pursuing new challenges, Blake said yes immediately. Before coming to Shanghai he was taken to a food tour in Guizhou. He visited a number of primitive villages in the mountains where he saw many kinds of novel food that he had never seen before. The unique cooking styles impressed him. “Guizhou food is so interesting”, Blake said excitedly. After coming to Shanghai, Blake worked as the Executive Chef at OHA Cafe and Table Black. Fusing Guizhou and Shanghai ingredients and using Western techniques, he created a series of unique and exquisite dishes.
这道看上去像甜品一样的白色方糕，实际是Blake用酸牛肉高汤和肥油用超声波均质机（Sonicprep）混合在一起制成。里面包裹了烟熏蹄膀丝和腌过红酒的白萝卜，上面点缀了鱼子酱。尝起来外层奶油般绵滑，蹄膀丝的扎实给这道菜带来了层次感，而烟熏与红酒白萝卜味道的混合产生了独特的美味。不论是外表和口味都充满了奇思妙想，真的太佩服Blake的头脑了！ This dish looks like a dessert, but actually it is smoked tendon and red wine poached radish wrapped in a shell made with beef stock and lard using Sonicprep, and finally topped with caviar. The outer layer tastes creamy, the tendon provides layers of texture, and the white radish poached in red wine creates bewildering flavors.
用上海粢饭糕、油封鸭腿肉丝和酸萝卜做出的三明治搭配贵州老鸭酸汤。三种极具地方特色的传统美食以史无前例的形式结合在一起，也就Blake能想得出这种搭配了吧。
Sandwich made of Shanghai fried rice cake, shredded duck confit and pickled radish paired with Guizhou sour duck soup.
这道菜的外形就彻底颠覆一般人的想象了。若不尝一下，可能怎么也猜不出这到底是什么。
其实，这是Blake以贵州老卤肉汁加入酒酿和焦糖卤出的马肉，配以在鸡汤中炖过的竹笙做出的料理。
The appearance is completely out of one’s imagination. It is horse meat marinated in Guizhou gravy with rice wine and caramel, paired with bamboo fungus braised in chicken soup.
这些看上去像艺术品的菜肴都出自Blake，食材在他的手下被各种解构重组后形成了前所未有的形态和口味。试过他料理的食客们常会感觉自己对熟之食材的认知被颠覆，不论是眼睛还是味蕾，都会被全新的概念冲击到。 These artful dishes were all created by Blake. The ingredients have been deconstructed and reinvented into exceptional shapes and tastes.
而这瓶看似普通的果酱实际上是Blake用厨余废料柠檬皮制成。 Blake工作的餐厅每天要用大量的柠檬汁做鸡尾酒，一只柠檬手挤出的果汁含量仅占整只柠檬的三分之一，而剩下的柠檬皮由于有股涩涩的苦味，总会很可惜的被调酒师直接扔掉。 Blake每天看着堆积如山的柠檬皮，他的创造灵感又被激发了。他将柠檬皮煮熟后打碎，与另一种厨余，山胡椒壳混合，再加入糖等调料后，柠檬皮重生了。 混合着酸甜辛辣的柠檬酱可以被用来调制鸡尾酒，也可用来做面包的抹酱，还可以用来做柠檬派的馅料， 做沙拉的酱汁，炸鸡的蘸酱等等。 柠檬皮的各类维生素含量比柠檬汁还要高，因为口味不受大众喜欢而被抛弃。在Blake的改造下，原本苦涩的味道变成了清爽开胃的美味，柠檬本身单一的酸味被挖掘出了更多的新风味。 这由重生后的柠檬皮制成的果酱，被Blake贴切的取名为“被拯救的柠檬酱”。 This seemingly ordinary jam was actually made from wasted lemon rind. Restaurants use a lot of lemon juice to make cocktails every day. Juice constitutes only one third of a lemon, and the remaining lemon skins are usually discarded by bartenders. When Blake saw the problem, his creativity spiked again! He boiled and grinded the lemon skin and mixed it with another kind of kitchen waste, mountain pepper shell. He added sugar and other spices — the lemon skin was reborn. The mixed flavor of sweet, sour and spicy is very versatile, can be used for cocktails, bread spreads, lemon pie fillings, salad dressings, fried chicken dips, and much more. Most people may not know that lemon skin is higher in vitamins than lemon juice itself, but due to the unappealing taste it is always thrown away. This reborn jam is named by Blake as “rescued lemon jam”.
“不要总是去模仿那些传统的，已有的东西。要有创新型的思维，要去做一些别人没做过的东西。”是Blake常爱说的话。 11岁时，他走上了一条不断打破某种边界，挑战某种规范的道路。在这条道路上前行时，来自世界各国的料理文化都曾试图塑造过他的烹饪风格，但他在自己的世界里找到了自己的特色。传统和经典给予了他进入厨艺世界的基本知识，但不会成为束缚他自己独特个性的桎梏。 当问起Blake，如果要用一道菜来形容他自己的话，那会是什么菜？ Blake说：“那将会是一种大胆，风味浓烈，层次丰富的菜。” 这也正是熟知Blake的人印象中的他，非常有趣，充满激情，不按常理出牌，人生经验丰富，不论是他本人还是他做的菜，总能不断给人们带来惊喜。 年少时意外选择的厨师道路，使他的人生路早早就偏离了社会普遍定义的传统观念。但他因为热爱，跟着自己的感觉和直觉走出了一段极为精彩的人生路。 在创意菜不被接受的年代，人们常常有这样的想法：“传统美食已经很美味了，为什么还要创新？”如今创意菜已风靡全球，人们意识到，美食不仅可以很美味，还可以更美味。 美好的事物，并不一定要用我们已知的形式去创造，有时通往成功的路，并不是我们已知的那些寻常路，Blake给我们举了很好的例子。
"Don't always copy what others already did. Think outside the box and do something that no one else has done before." Blake said. Blake's choice at the age of 10 meant he didn't follow a life path like most. Fueled by his intuition, he went on an inspiring journey. His experience was enriched by different cultures, but he never let them take over his own style. Through constant boundary breaking and challenging norms, he developed a style that only belongs to him. In an age when creative cuisine was not popular, people thought that traditional cuisine was already delicious, why does it need to change? But now creative cuisine is taking over the world.
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