【双语】When French Chefs Meet Cantonese Cuisine

Recently, we have two special guest gourmets visiting us in Guangzhou from Lyon. The couple Connie Zagora and Laurent Ozan , who are both graduates from L’ecole de Gastronomie Francaise Ferrandi, is running a creative restaurant called Le Kitchen Café in Lyon now. Connie is a culinary chef while her husband Laurent is a pastry chef. They are invited to China because of the Chinese Gastronomic Festival called ‘Les Baguettes Magiques’ (The Magic Wands). Every year, during the festival, there will be some French chefs coming to China to learn cooking skills and share experience with local chefs.

最近，广州迎来了两位从里昂远道而来的客人——美食家Connie Zagora和 Laurent Ozan。他们夫妇二人都毕业于斐杭迪高等厨艺学院，目前在里昂经营着一家叫Le Kitchen Café的创意菜餐厅。Connie是一名厨师，而她的丈夫则是甜点师。这次他们受“神奇的筷子”中国美食节的邀情来到了中国。每年，“神奇的筷子”中国美食节都会邀请几名法国厨师到中国，他们可以一边学习中式烹饪之道，一边和当地的厨师交流经验。

Connie Zagora (first left) and Laurent Ozan (second left)

Connie Zagora（左一）和Laurent Ozan（左二）

It is Connie and Laurent’s very first visit to China and Guangzhou. During their visit, they do not only have the chance to taste and learn about Cantonese food, but also have an upcoming challenge – prepare a fusion Chinese French dinner set menu with local ingredients and with what they’ve learnt at the restaurant Ze 8.

这是Connie和Laurent的首次中国行，也是他们第一次来到广州。来访期间，这对夫妇厨师不仅要品尝及学习了解粤菜，更面临着一个挑战 —— 利用他们在广州知名食府啫八所学到的粤菜烹饪技巧及广州本地食材，回到法国，为当地食客提供具有全新的中法美食文化交融的菜品。

To prepare for the evening dinner, Connie and Laurent drove down to the local market right away after arriving in Guangzhou. They don't look exhausted at all and show great enthusiasm about their very visit to the market. Although they already expected there would be some major difference between the markets in China and the ones in France, they still find everything fascinating. “I have never seen live bullfrogs and unpeeled waternuts at our markets’, said Connie excitedly. Connie and Laurent are amazed at the variety of vegetables they’ve seen. Afterwards, their visit to Huangsha Seafood Market completely blew their minds. “There are so many options of seafood here and I can’t even name some of them”, Said Connie.

为了准备晚宴的菜单，Connie和Laurent顾不得旅途辛劳，刚落地广州，便驱车来到了广州的菜市场——这也是他们在这座城市的第一站。尽管他们在出发之前，已经对中法菜市场的差异做好了心理准备，然而，亲临菜市之后，仍旧忍不住惊叹连连。“我从来没有见过活的田鸡和连皮的马蹄”，Connie说。广州的蔬菜品种之多，也让夫妇二人数不过来。随后，他们又去了黄沙水产市场，一路上大开眼界。Connie表示：“这里的海鲜种类太多了，有很多海鲜我们甚至叫不出名字。”

Connie and Laurent in the local wet market

在广州水产市场购物的Connie和Laurent夫妇

Later on, after being inspired by the market, they had a discussion with the local chefs about the menu. Connie and Laurent were even shown how to cook Cantonese food.  When being ask what’s her first impression about what she has learnt, Connie said “When I tried the dishes, I’m surprised by how fresh it tastes.”

买完菜，同时还获得不少烹饪灵感后，主厨夫妇二人回到餐厅，马上开始与中国厨师们商量晚宴餐单菜式。当被问到对粤菜的第一印象时，Connie说道：“粤菜吃起来非常新鲜。”

The couple learned about cooking Chinese cuiisine

主厨夫妇学习中国菜肴烹饪之道

Laurent is in charge of the dessert menu. After he tried the Chinese almond milk, he said “I think the dessert in China tastes less sweet in China than in France. Also it is very smooth, but in France, usually we like them crunchy.”

甜品师Laurent负责的，当然是餐单上的甜品啦。在品尝过广式杏仁露之后，他表示，“广州的甜品没有法国的那么甜，而且吃起来很细滑。在法国，人们更喜欢具有香脆口感的甜品。”

The couple busy preparing main courses and desserts 

精心准备主菜和点心的大厨们

（图源：美食导报）

After a few hours of discussion and busy preparation, and Voila! Here is the special dinner set menu by our Lyon chefs! 

经过数小时的讨论和忙碌准备后，由二位法国主厨们准备的晚餐出炉了！

Menu

冰镇翡翠扎

 Green Beans Served with Fermented Soybean Sauce

法式冰镇花螺 

French Style Iced Sea Snail 

里昂式温鲜鲍仔

Lyon Style Steamed Abalone

牛油蒜蓉炒玉米蚌

BBQ Clams with Butter, Garlic and Corn

百年好合奶酪

Homemade Ricotta with Shredded Lily and Mashed Lotus

蚬蚧啫肥牛藕

Sizzling Clams with Lotus and Beef

嫦娥的冰激凌

Homemade Pistachio Ice Cream with Grapefruit, Sesame Biscuit and Passion Fruit 

Do you think they ace the challenge?

你觉得他们挑战成功了吗？

“This is the very first time that I’ve ever tried cooking Cantonese food. I found it very interesting”, said Connie, “For the Sizzling Clams with Lotus and Beef, I added some dried hawthorn to the sauce that will make the clams taste more savory. This is one of the ingredients that we barely use in the French kitchen.”

“这是我第一次做粤菜，感觉很新鲜有趣。”Connie说，“我在'牛油蒜茸玉米蚌’这道菜中加了一点山楂酱，让这道菜吃起来更加鲜美。不过，我们法国人很少用山楂做菜”。

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the twinning between Guangzhou and Lyon. Many celebratory events had taken place respectively in both cities. Earlier this year, we have seen Bocuse d’Or, the prestigious gastronomic contest conclude its Asia Pacific section and The Sun Trip 2018 in Guangzhou. Chinese cuisine has a long history and French gastronomy is also well known around the world. We are glad to see that the increasing gastronomic communications between western and eastern create new inspiration for chefs in both cities.

今年是广州-里昂两城缔结姐妹城市30周年，因此，两城各自举办了不少庆祝活动。例如“太阳之旅”拉力赛、博古斯世界烹饪大赛亚太地区选拔赛等。中华美食历史悠久，法国美食闻名天下，我们期待着与日俱增的东西方美食交流活动能为两国大厨带来更多灵感。

►Photos: Most photos are provided by Consulate General of the Republic of France in Guangzhou

►Editors: Frankie Zhang, Shirley Tse