#@chef

 這位正處於事業巔峰 - La Liste全球1000家頂尖餐廳排名第一, 2012年接手瑞士傳奇三星餐廳Hôtel de Ville-Crissier - 的主廚在44歲的壯年, 自殺離世, 留下令世人不解的遺憾.

 我正巧在他自盡前一周去這間餐廳用餐, 主廚熱情地帶我們參觀廚房, 邀我們一起合照. 燦爛大方的笑容彷彿仍在眼前.

 非常驚艷於餐廳在各方面的高水準: 親切不造做的服務, 精彩豐富的酒單酒藏, 然而最重要的還是其手藝. 我認為已經得到Joël Robuchon名廚的真傳, 在我不多的用餐經驗中, 他是少數能將擺盤的顏色, 精緻細膩的刀工與和諧深邃的滋味, 達到同樣顛峰高度的主廚.

 他的手藝是世界廚藝的一則傳奇, 而他的離世則是留下一個難以彌補的空缺. 僅以此小文向這位廚師致敬.

Restaurant Hotel de Ville-Crissier

add:   Rue d'Yverdon 1, 1023 Crissier, Suisse

                A hazy memory passes over my blinded vision, a little girl scurries in and out of hearing and a playful voice jogs me into a short legged run forward “You can’t catch me, you can’t catch me.”

                “Shuuut up! Yes I can!” I shout into the echoless black cloud trailing behind the little blue dress.

                “You’re soo slow! You’re a slow poke!” She says as she runs just out of reach.

                “Nuh U-“ I trip into the harsh and jagged rocks below my feet and let out a yelp “Owww ow owwww.” The girl stops and turns around only to end in front of me with a hand outreached toward my fallen body.

                “Stop cryin.” She says pursing her small lips trying to look tough “Get up.”

                “But it hurtttzzz….” I say clutching my bleeding knee.

                “It’s okay, it will get better. Everything just takes time, come on. Get-“ A hand slams into the side of my face and my eyes shoot open and I look in shock to the woman in front of me holding a rifle

                “GET THE FUCK UP” she says shoving an assault rifle into my chest. “Our man are dying out there, we need our fuckin commander.” I take a moment to look around, noticing a totaled military truck I remark

                “Damn foxtrot, you couldn’t have been a little more gentile with my truck?” A man stands up from a small boulder acting as cover and lets off a few pop shots into the distance, he ducks before a responding shower destroys the top layer of the block he hides behind.

                “You know as well as I general, I didn’t pass diving school” He says before letting a hearty laugh out and throwing a grenade over his shoulder.

                “Alright what’s the situation Slim?” I say raising myself into a crouch.

                “We’ve got a battalion of French troops on our left, Germans on our right, and the Chinese are taking shots at everyone from on that apartment complex. This whole fucking area is going to shit.” She says pointing in the various directions as she summarizes.

                “What’s command say?”

                “Command has a 40 minute count until they sweep this area, that’s why we need to MOVE.” She says standing up and pulling her rifle to eye level and firing.

                “YOU HEARD THE GIRL! MOVE TALON COMPANY! MOVE.” I start at a dead sprint behind three other nameless soldiers raising my pistol to my side and firing wildly. We clear 10 or 15 feet before one man in front of me gets hit in the side of the head and falls to the ground without a sound, I have only a moment to jump his body before a mortar shell lands beside me taking out four of my naboring company. My right ear drum shuts off for a moment to recalibrate as I continue on my run.

                I slide into a ditch along with a couple of my closer guards, “Where are we, and how many steps do we need before we’re in that damn building?”

                “I’d say…” Foxtrot crawls forward and peaks his head above ground level for a moment, “Only 50 or so.”

                “Fuckin hell…” I lift my rifle above the ditch and turn my head “I’ll cover, you two get in that apartment complex.” The girl pauses for a second and checks her watch, “35 minutes in counting sir.”

                “Noted.” I say opening fire on a group of Chinese guarding the building. In the resulting bursts three or so drop to the ground and two are left standing, if only for a moment before being gunned down by the approaching commando’s that set up near the door way pointing outward and readying their rifles. One of them holds a hand up and waves me over with the “all clear” signal. Within 2 minutes we are flying up the stairs barely having time to stumble on our approach to the roof. A door swings open and a canister bounces off the shingles into a group of soldiers now facing it, having been distracted from their assault. A blinding light lights up the night sky and five men scatter atop the building, one quickly opening fire on the capacitated Chinese and they fall instantly.

                “All sides clear, sir” A girl reports while giving a firm salute.