I Went to the Fanciest Culinary Event with a Stomach Bug美食盛會開，胃痛亦可挨

丹尼爾·古特尼克　李欣雯/譯

At the Cancun Riviera Annual Food & Wine Festival， I consumed the best food in the world while suffering from acute food poisoning. It was not the festivals delicately prepared dishes that caused my gastronomical distress， but rather the remnants of my grandmothers Passover brisket Id consumed days prior to the event.

在坎昆里維埃拉一年一度的美食美酒節(jié)上，我吃到了這世上最美味的食物，盡管當時我因急性食物中毒而飽受煎熬。害我腸胃遭此一劫的并非美食節(jié)上那些精心準備的佳肴，而是我前幾天吃的奶奶剩下的逾越節(jié)燉牛胸肉。

When I arrived at one of the most celebrated culinary events in Mexico， I couldnt keep my food down. The stomach pangs I experienced were enough to make any tourist remain bedridden… but I had a food festival to attend， damn it！ Like Hunter S. Thompson1 stumbling dizzily through a bustling hotel lobby， I traveled from dinner to luncheon to dinner feeling generally confused and desperately clutching my stomach.

當我到達墨西哥最著名的烹飪盛會之一的現(xiàn)場時，我食不下咽。當時我所經(jīng)受的胃部劇痛足以讓任何一名游客臥床不起……但是我還得參加美食節(jié)，我的老天！就像亨特·S. 湯普森昏昏沉沉、跌跌撞撞地穿過熙熙攘攘的酒店大堂，我從晚餐到午宴，再到晚餐，總感覺自己糊里糊涂的，死命捂著自己的肚子。

A culinary dreamworld and a personal hell

美食的樂園，我的煉獄

Some information about the festival： its extremely prestigious， and it hosts some of the most renowned chefs in the world. This time specifically featured culinary arts by Mario Blanco， Jorge Vallejo， Jesús Escalera as well as a number of other prominent Mexican and Spanish chefs. The meals were served at six different hotels. The festival is part of Cancuns attempt to redefine itself not as a Las Vegas-y tourist destination， but as a world-class cultural hub and an epicenter of gastronomic creativity.

這里有一些關(guān)于美食節(jié)的信息：它久負盛名，全球最知名的一些廚師在此薈萃一堂。這次的美食節(jié)主打馬里奧·布蘭科、豪爾赫·巴列霍、赫蘇斯·埃斯卡萊拉等一眾墨西哥和西班牙名廚的烹飪藝術(shù)。人們可以在6家酒店品嘗佳肴。舉辦這個美食節(jié)是坎昆嘗試重新定義自身的行動之一，它想要證明自己不是拉斯維加斯式的旅游勝地，而是世界級文化中心和美食創(chuàng)意集中地。

I was hosted by the Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach， whose representatives promptly escorted me to a tequila tasting upon my arrival. The hotel restaurant was called La Joya， where we were prepped on the distilling process of tequila—how the sweet agave leaves are baked for over twenty-four hours， cooled for another twenty， ground and then fermented. The tequila was taken as a shot by the drinker， who then sprinted to the nearest ba?o2 and deposit-ed the drink into a restaurant lavatory made of the finest porcelain.

負責(zé)接待我的是大美洲慶典珊瑚海灘酒店，酒店代表待我到達，即刻就領(lǐng)我去了龍舌蘭酒品酒會。在酒店的拉霍亞餐廳，我們先了解了一下龍舌蘭酒的蒸餾過程——甜甜的龍舌蘭葉先烘烤24小時以上，再冷卻20小時，而后研磨、發(fā)酵。飲用者小杯喝下龍舌蘭酒，然后沖向最近的公共盥洗室，將這種飲料“存入”鋪滿絕美瓷磚的餐廳洗手間里。

It was only after the intake of several fine tequilas—Resposado， Anejo， 1800， not to mention mescal—that the sensations of abdominal pain and body aches became all consuming. The following night was as sleepless as it would have been if I were being tormented by the bloodsucking Chupacabra3.

直到喝了幾種上好的龍舌蘭酒——微陳龍舌蘭酒、陳年龍舌蘭酒、1800龍舌蘭酒，更不用說梅斯卡爾酒，我肚子里和身體上的疼痛才達到極致。那天晚上我好似遭到吸血的卓柏卡布拉折磨，毫無睡意。

A malady of disproportionate portions

貪多致病

The following morning I explored the beautiful Coral Beach， and chatted with locals nearby. They were a group of six， about my age， who teetered playfully among the rocks near the hotel.

第二天早上，我游覽了美麗的珊瑚海灘，還和附近的當?shù)厝肆牧肆摹Ｋ麄冇?個人，和我年齡相仿，在酒店附近的礁石間嬉鬧著，腳步有些踉蹌。

“Tengo esto，” they said to me， offering me a cold Tecate.

“我有這個?！彼麄儗ξ艺f，給了我一瓶冰鎮(zhèn)的特卡特啤酒。

“Sí， gracias…” I responded reluctantly， refusing to deny the graciousness of my hosts.

“好吧，謝謝……”我勉強回道，不想拒絕東道主的好意。

And after a moment： “Quieres otro？”

過了一會兒，他們問道：“要不要再來一瓶？”

Oy vey. They were offering me another beer. Bubbles aplenty were building inside me.

天哪，他們又給了我一瓶啤酒。我的胃里漸漸冒出大量泡沫。

Opulence in the dining room and the bathroom

餐廳與衛(wèi)生間里的奢華體驗

The luncheon later that day， honoring the French cuisine of chef Henri Charvet， was delectable. I enjoyed such highlights as the foie gras croquant， drizzled with apple and balsamic syrup， and the quail in crapaudine4， served with spiced grapes， spinach custard， and pine nuts. The restroom experience was a must to-do. Boasting toilet paper folded like origami of the highest quality， my stall was filled with the impeccable aromas of lilies and lavender.

這天晚些時候的午宴佳肴致敬了亨利·沙爾韋大廚做的法國美食，非常美味。我喜歡這場午宴的幾道驚艷菜品，比如澆了蘋果香脂糖漿的松脆鵝肝，以及搭配五香葡萄、菠菜蛋羹和松子的去脊蟾蜍鵪鶉。衛(wèi)生間是必去之地。我去的那個隔間里，廁紙疊如頂級折紙藝術(shù)品，還充溢著百合花和薰衣草沁人心脾的芳香。

The Gala dinner， a tribute to Barcelonas cuisine， was even more impressive. The event was hosted at Secrets The Vine Cancun Hotel. The event sought to repurpose traditional Yucatan flavors in a contemporary way designed for the insatiable palates of food critics and common folk alike.

向巴塞羅那美食致敬的盛大晚宴更是令人印象深刻。這場晚宴在坎昆維恩度假酒店舉行，試圖以一種現(xiàn)代的方式對尤卡坦傳統(tǒng)風(fēng)味加以改變，以滿足美食評論家和大眾永不知足的味蕾。

The meal started with small tapas. The dishes that really stole the show， however， were Paco Méndezs X-ni-pek5 Onion， a single， slightly cooked pink onion marinated in a savory sauce， and Xavi Pérez Stones Fish Confitte in Iberian Ham Fat， which cut like butter and melted on the tongue. One dish I couldnt seem to embrace was the “Escamol，” or ant larva. This is regarded as the Mexican equivalent of caviar. Unlike the Escamol， my stomach possessed a favorable blend of unique acids with a slightly overpowering hint of simmering bile. Its never-ending gargling resounded throughout the immaculate ballroom， eliciting whispers from the crowd.

這場晚宴由西班牙餐前小食揭開序幕。然而，真正搶風(fēng)頭的菜肴是帕科·門德斯的狗鼻醬洋蔥——一個微熟的粉紅咸味腌洋蔥；還有扎維·佩雷·斯通的伊比利亞火腿油浸魚脯，切如黃油、化于舌尖。我怕是無法接受“彝斯咖魔”，也就是螞蟻幼蟲。這道菜被視為墨西哥版魚子醬。與“彝斯咖魔”不同，我胃中涌動著配比恰當?shù)幕旌衔?，其中包含多種特殊的酸，還醞釀著少許苦味強烈的膽汁。胃里沒完沒了地發(fā)出漱口似的聲音，響徹一塵不染的宴會廳，引起人們竊竊私語。

Desserts were no less impressive， especially Rafael Zafras unique and triumphant Maiz y Cajeta， a chocolate， corn and vanilla confection.

甜點也同樣引人注目，尤其是拉斐爾·薩弗拉別具一格的煉乳焦糖玉米，做得非常成功。這是一種由巧克力、玉米和香草制成的甜點。

Later that night， I threw everything up in my toilet.

當晚晚些時候，我把吃的所有東西都吐進了馬桶。

The “l(fā)ove that comes out of food”

“來自食物的愛”

The following day， I had the pleas-ure to observe chefs Nacho and Poncho Cadena， a father-son team， teaching a class in an intimate kitchen setting. Nacho explained some of his philosophies regarding food artistry. At his restaurant Milk （which would have been the worst substance for me to ingest at that time）， Nacho changes his menu everyday depending on the day of the week and the mood of his guests. He loves to watch the evolution of his clients， as they grow happier， brighter， and more talkative due to the “l(fā)ove that comes out of his food.” If a client is happy， hes happy. For Nacho， its important to forget about the diet and just enjoy the experience. When guests point to his protruding belly， he explains that it is simply the translation of his flavors.

接下來這天，我有幸觀摩了納舒·卡德納和蓬雄·卡德納這對廚師父子在私人廚房授課的過程。納舒闡釋了他對食品藝術(shù)的一些理念。在他名為“牛奶”（當時的我最難以吸收的東西）的餐廳里，納舒每天都會根據(jù)當天是周幾和客人的心情變更菜單。他喜歡看到顧客的變化，他們“從他提供的美食中感受到愛”，從而變得更快樂、更幸福、更健談?？腿碎_心，他也開心。忘卻所食，享受過程，這對納舒來說很重要。每逢客人指向他隆起的肚子，他就會解釋說，這不過是他美食風(fēng)味的體現(xiàn)。

As I write this I am still recovering from the festival， both from my astonishment at its lavishness， and from my viral gastroenteritis. I may not have been the Cancun Riviera Food Festivals ideal guest， but it is a testament to their culinary genius that they could make me enjoy the food， even if they couldnt make me stomach it.

寫這篇文章的時候，我還在慢慢地從美食節(jié)中緩過勁兒來，既要從驚奇于它的奢華中平復(fù)心情，也要從病毒性腸胃炎中恢復(fù)健康。我可能不是坎昆里維埃拉美食節(jié)的理想賓客。盡管無福消化，我還是禁不住品嘗了那些美食，這就是各位大廚烹飪天資的證明。

Despedida6！

再會！

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎?wù)?；單位：西安外國語大學(xué)）