Dialogue 對話 Paul Pairet

“I like the idea that something is delivering more than what it initially promises.

我喜歡事物傳遞出超越它自身意義的訊息。”

Chef：主廚

Highly-regarded chef Paul Pairet is the co-founder of two of Shanghai's most exhilarating dining experiences: Mr & Mrs Bund and the world-renowned Ultraviolet.

明星主廚Paul Pairet與友人在上海聯合創辦的兩家餐廳：Mr & Mrs Bund以及世界頂級餐廳Ultraviolet，以美食和獨特的用餐體驗驚艷食客的感官。

When you go to a restaurant, what are you looking for?

I look for honesty. I look to be over-whelmed. I like the idea that something is delivering more than what it initially promises. I'm open to everything, even fast food. If it's a good pizza, I'm going to enjoy it. I hate things that are not honest and there's a lot of that, which is a shame.

Can you tell us about the new res-taurant you will be opening soon at XINTIANDI?

We're going to open a French cafe, an all-day space where you can have breakfast, then lunch, then seamlessly move into tea in the afternoon. The idea is to have something understated done properly. This is inspired by the success of one of my other restaurants, Mr & Mrs Bund, which seeks to give customers a shared eating experience.

You must have picked up ideas and concepts about the idea of the eating experience in all the countries you've visited. In France there's definitely a different attitude to eating than in the UK, and in Shanghai it's something else entirely. How has that affected how your work?

One of the concepts behind Mr & Mrs Bund is that it is a translation of the way Chinese restaurants are slowly relating to the ideas seen in Western restaurants. It's not about starting a revolution, it's about making something relevant that can be understood by a lot of different people at the same time. With The Chop Chop Club we are doing something that seems obvious, but does not actually exist in other restaurants. That's why I say eating at The Chop Chop Club is like having a Sunday meal at home. We do things like cook whole roasted legs of lamb on the grill. That's interesting because you don't often come across whole pieces of meat in restaurants for the simple reason that when you cook a whole leg of lamb, what do you do with it? You need to sell it right now, at the peak of the roasting! You need to find people who can all share it together, at once. We took it even further with Ultraviolet later on, which offers a 22-course menu. When you are serving 22 courses over a three-hour period, that is the ultimate freedom for a chef.

Is that why you started Ultraviolet?

Like a lot of chefs, I wanted the opportunity to really cook at my best. If you have the ability to control the time at which people are sitting down to eat, and also what they're eating, then it enables you to cook at your highest level.

What do you reckon is the ideal number of people to be seated around a table?

The ideal number of guests around a table is between eight and 10. That's why I designed Ultraviolet to only seat 10 guests in total. The best thing about Ultraviolet is that until you actually make a visit, you won't really know what to expect. Curiosity is the main ingredient that draws people in.

What is your all-time favourite dish?

My grandmother's recipe of Capsicum Catalane, which is grilled or roasted peppers – that's a speciality of my countryside – cooked and served quite plainly on a plate. You have the smell of the smokiness, and on the top you put big anchovies from Collioure, a French town that is famous for them. Then you put a bit of garlic and parsley on top, a little bit of vinegar from Banyuls which has a strong taste, and then a beautiful olive oil.

“It's about making something relevant that can be understood by a lot of different people at the same time.

我所堅持的餐飲體驗是能讓東西方人都能理解和接受?！?/p>

當你去一家餐館時，你最期待什么？

一種對待食物的真誠以及被驚艷的感覺吧。我喜歡事物傳遞出超越它自身意義的訊息。我其實接受度很高，快餐、披薩如果做的好吃也可以很美味。我最不喜歡的就是缺乏誠意的食物，遺憾的是確實不少餐廳正是如此。

你能跟我們談談你即將在上海新天地開設的新餐廳嗎？

上海新天地的新店將會定位為一家法式咖啡館，人可以在里面泡上一天，從早餐、午餐、一直享用到下午茶。這家新店的創立靈感是想讓一些稀疏平常的食材呈現出不一般的美味，這個想法也緣起我的另一家餐廳Mr & Mrs Bund，那兒主打家庭式聚餐形式的食物分享。

你應該從你游歷過的各個國家了解到很多關于飲食的文化差異，比如法國和英國肯定有些不一樣，對上海來說，又是另外一番景象，這些不同的經歷對你的工作有什么影響嗎？

Mr & Mrs Bund背后的概念是體現中國餐飲方式與西方餐飲方式的不斷交融，這個不是指要顛覆其中的某一方，而是應當讓東西方人都能理解和接受。我們在The Chop Chop Club的嘗試比較顯而易見，但是你在外面基本找不到第二家這樣的餐廳。在The Chop Chop Club用餐，就像在家舉辦周日派對，我們會烤整只的羊腿。通常餐廳如果烤這么一整只腿的話，需要在它口感最好的時候立刻全部售出，所以很少人能在餐廳里見到這么完整的一只羊腿，你必須同時找到這么多人一同分享。這點在Ultraviolet做得更為極致。我們提供一份22道式的菜單。當你得在整整三小時內出品22道菜品的時候，靠的就是廚師極致的自由發揮了。

這是你創立Ultravoilet的原因嗎？

和許多廚師一樣，我想要做到真正的完美。如果能掌控用餐的節奏和菜品內容，我應該可以把創作發揮到極致。

你覺得圍坐在同一張餐桌的理想用餐人數是多少？

理想的同桌客人數應該在8至10人之間。這就是為什么我把Ultraviolet設計成10個席位。Ultraviolet最棒的地方是除非你自己親身體驗，否則你根本不知道接下來會發生什么，好奇心會把人們自然地吸引過來。

能跟我們分享一道你最愛吃的菜嗎？？

那應該是我奶奶的獨家菜譜—加泰羅尼亞烤甜椒（Capsicum Catalan），這是一道很有農村特色風味的小菜，做法、擺盤都很質樸。你能聞到它烘烤后散發出幽幽的煙熏味道，可以在上面撒上來自鳳尾魚之鄉Coulliere的特產—大塊鳳尾魚，然后加點蒜粒和西芹，少量Banyuls產的醋能增添強烈的香味，最后淋上些許橄欖油就算完成了。