來北京創業的外國大廚的點滴生活
Brian McKenna was comfortable in his life as a chef and club owner in Amsterdam until he was offered the chance to work in Beijing. Less than six weeks later he was on a plane to China. “I sold my home, my car, ended an eight-year relationship,” recalls McKenna, 36. “I literally got my bags, turned around, and that was it.”
布賴恩?馬克南(Brian McKenna)原在阿姆斯特丹(Amsterdam)當廚師以及夜總會老闆，有人請他到北京工作後，他舒適安逸的生活被打破了。不到六週時間，他就登上了去中國的飛機。“我賣掉自己的房子與車子，結束了在阿姆斯特丹八年的生活，”36歲的馬克南迴憶道。“我打點行裝，毅然離開了荷蘭，就這麼簡單。”It was 2006 and the capital was gearing up for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. McKenna had little desire to return to his home town London, where, he felt, everyone was “in a rush but going nowhere”. In China, by contrast, “everybody is doing everything. It was just exciting. People wanted to be here.”
當時是2006年，北京正快馬加鞭準備2008年奧運會。馬克南已無心返回自己的故鄉倫敦，他覺得在倫敦，每個人“都毫無目的地忙忙碌碌”。而在中國，“每個人都有所作爲，一切振奮人心，大家都想到中國來奮鬥”，這與倫敦形成了鮮明對比。McKenna, who had become head chef of the (now closed) Michelin-starred Le Poussin at Parkhill restaurant in Hampshire, southern England, when he was just 21, was asked to launch the Blu Lobster restaurant at the Shangri-La hotel. He arrived, however, to find a nascent food scene that lacked variety and sophistication.
馬克南擔任英格蘭南部漢普郡(Hampshire)帕克希爾飯店(Parkhill restaurant)米其林星級餐廳Le Poussin（如今已關張）主廚時只有21歲，有次受邀參加在北京香格里拉酒店(Shangri-La hotel)藍韻餐廳(Blu Lobster)舉辦的午宴。但抵達那兒後，他發現端上來菜品花樣與精細程度乏善可陳，顯得太過小兒科。
Rather than despair McKenna saw it as an opportunity. “At that time there was no Maison Boulud, no Capital M,” he says, referring to two fine dining stalwarts that are now established favourites in the capital. “The Chinese didn’t know what a Michelin [star] was. So I felt I could really come here and do something.”
馬克南並不感到十分失望，相反他看作是自己的機遇。“當時，北京既沒有布魯宮法餐廳(Maison Boulud)，也沒有Capital M餐廳，”他說，他指的是目前北京兩家知名度最大的西餐廳。“中國人不知道何爲米其林星級餐廳，因此我覺得自己可以來藍韻餐廳有所作爲。”That something was to put Blu Lobster on the map with its critically acclaimed modern Mediterranean cuisine. And for McKenna – a former boxer – it was a chance to mould himself into something of a local celebrity chef.
他的舉措就是用廣受讚譽的現代地中海餐飲風格改造藍韻餐廳，從而讓它聲名鵲起。對於馬克南（昔日曾是拳擊手）來說，這是把自己塑造成本地名廚的絕佳機會。This year McKenna capitalised on his name by opening a chic restaurant in an imperial Qing dynasty former courtyard with views over the ancient Forbidden City moat. Brian McKenna @ The Courtyard, a partnership with Chinese-American developer Handel Lee, dishes up fusion European cuisine with a dash of molecular gastronomy at eye-watering prices for China’s newly rich.
今年，馬克南充分利用美籍華人李景漢(Handel Lee)的名聲，在可俯瞰故宮、昔日清朝的一座四合院內與他合開了一家時尚餐廳——馬克南四合軒(Brian McKenna @ The Courtyard)。餐廳融合中西餐飲精華，以分子美食系統方式呈現給中國的各路新貴，菜價高得令人咋舌。When McKenna arrived in China, international high-end dining was still a concept largely reserved for the big hotel chains. Seven years later, countless restaurateurs, both local and expat, are jostling to cater to an increasingly cosmopolitan Chinese clientele, many of whom have lived abroad. McKenna savours the challenge. “I will take huge risks. If I lose, I lose. I don’t mind,” he says.
馬克南抵達中國時，國際高端餐飲仍屬大型連鎖酒店的“勢力範圍”。七年後，無數餐飲從業者（無論是本地還是外國僑民）爭相滿足中國的客戶羣，這些中國人越來越具有全球視野，很多人在國外生活。馬克南很享受這種挑戰。“我願意承擔巨大風險，萬一不成功，我也認了，並不介意，”他說。To give him an edge over his competitors, McKenna has incorporated playful nods towards China in the menu – a sure-fire hit with local diners. Patrons can crack into a chocolate terracotta warrior or a cheesecake that pays homage to the Chinese flag (both signature desserts).
爲了戰勝各路同行，馬克南在菜單中融入了歡快的中國元素——本地客人趨之若鶩。食客可以把巧克力做的兵馬俑和酪餅（專向中國國旗表示敬意）敲碎後吃，這兩道都是餐廳的招牌甜點。China has “a million good things and 10 bad things,” says McKenna. His complaints are common: choking pollution, standstill traffic, and a restaurant scene which is still young (although improving rapidly, Beijing is easily eclipsed by New York and London). But these issues “don’t bother me because they’re all something I can’t do anything about,” says McKenna. Much more pressing is his lack of time and opportunity to practise boxing, a family hobby he has enjoyed since he was a small child.
中國的“好東西數不勝數，但也有少許不盡如人意之處，”馬克南說。他的抱怨頗具普遍性：空氣污染嚴重、異常擁堵的交通以及仍顯稚嫩的餐飲文化（儘管北京餐飲文化發展勢頭迅猛，但與紐約與倫敦相比，立馬顯得黯然失色）。但這些事“並不讓我心煩意亂，因爲我對它們根本無能爲力，”馬克南說。如今更緊迫的是自己缺少練拳擊的時間與機會，他打小就喜歡拳擊，拳擊也是他們家族共同的愛好。Compensations, however, are numerous. McKenna loves to sing karaoke, a national pastime. He regularly goes out for pizza or enjoys local kebabs known as chuanr in small neighbourhood restaurants. Although he speaks no Chinese, he has a driver, personal assistant and translator to help him navigate the city.
但還有很多活動可以補償這個缺憾。馬克南喜愛唱卡拉ＯＫ，這是全中國人喜歡的消遣方式。他定期去吃比薩，喜歡到社區小飯店裏享用本地的烤肉串兒(chuanr)。儘管他說不了漢語，但他有兼司機、私人助手以及譯者於一身的專門人員幫他逛遍北京城。For the past three years McKenna, a bachelor, has also enjoyed some of the city’s best views from his miniature penthouse in the Park Hyatt Residences. (Yao Ming, the former basketball star and national hero, is a neighbour). Situated in the middle of the central business district (CBD) among skyscrapers, upscale shops and clubs, the area is a coveted hub for the moneyed classes. With its vast car-clogged roads and titanic buildings, Beijing’s CBD has none of the quaint, low-key charm of the city’s older neighbourhoods. But McKenna – whose catering and restaurant concept company Brian McKenna Hospitality Group has 250 staff – loves the “pure convenience” of living close to his office. He is also keen to avoid living where many foreigners flock: the expat haunt Sanlitun, an area in the Chaoyang district, renowned for its vibrant, but gritty, bar street. “I fly first class, I stay in the best,” he says. “I have direction for where I am going.”
過去三年，單身漢馬克南一直居住於凱悅酒店公寓(Park Hyatt Residences)的屋頂小戶套房，從那兒還可俯瞰北京城的勝景。（前籃球巨星及全民英雄姚明(Yao Ming)是他鄰居）。凱悅酒店公寓位於北京中央商務區(central business district, CBD)中心位置，周圍高樓林立，高檔商鋪與夜總會雲集，是各路富豪覬覦的黃金地段。北京CBD的馬路上車水馬龍，周圍摩天大樓密佈，完全沒有老城區那種奇特精巧、低調含蓄的美感。但馬克南卻很喜歡居住於此，因爲這兒距離自己公司近在咫尺，“上班異常便利”。他的全新餐飲理念公司——馬克南酒店管理有限公司(Brian McKenna Hospitality Group)有250名員工。他還竭力避開外國人扎堆居住的區域：外國僑民愛逛位於朝陽區的三里屯(Sanlitun)，這兒以喧囂熱鬧、但魚目混珠的酒吧街出名。“我出行要坐頭等艙，住的是最高檔酒店，”他說。“我知道如何把握自己的人生航向。”This has not always been the case. Born in London to poor Irish parents (McKenna’s father was one of 15 children; his mother one of 18), McKenna ended up in a young offender institution at just 14 years old. “I was just uncontrollable, I was wild,” he says. “I could still barely read or write at 13.”
但這並非一直如此。馬克南出生在倫敦一戶貧窮的愛爾蘭裔家庭（他爸爸有15個兄弟姐妹，媽媽的兄弟姐妹多達18個），14歲就被關進了青少年犯勞教所。“我當時無法控制自己，放蕩不羈，”他說。“13歲時自己還無法正常讀寫。”The chef’s luck changed when he was placed under a mentorship scheme with an assistant rugby coach. He introduced McKenna to a new world. “He took me for my first McDonald's, my first cinema trip, introduced me to my first chef,” remembers McKenna, who admits to harbouring certain prejudices while growing up. As a difficult and troubled teenager, he was certain that only women could, or should, cook. “I [had] never seen a man cook before.”
大廚的轉運是緣於關懷計劃(mentorship scheme)，他被置於某助理橄欖球教練監管之下。對方把馬克南引向了嶄新世界。“他帶我吃了第一頓麥當勞，看了第一場電影，介紹我認識了第一位大廚師傅，”馬克南迴憶道，他坦承自己成長過程中一直懷揣偏見。作爲一個難以相處、麻煩不斷的青少年，他當時堅信只有女人應該做飯。“我之前從未看過男人做過飯。”Despite this, McKenna started to work part-time in the kitchen at Chez Nico restaurant in the five-star Grosvenor House hotel in London. The job provided him with a much-needed routine. “I enjoyed discipline; I enjoyed being part of a team. I enjoyed being part of something. I loved working,” he says.
儘管如此，馬克南開始在倫敦五星級酒店格羅納夫大酒店(Grosvenor House Hotel)的Chez Nico餐廳廚房幹兼職。這份臨時工作訓練了他日常工作如何程序化，這是他所急需的東西。“我喜歡受紀律約束，喜歡成爲團隊的一分子，喜歡參與其中，熱愛工作，”他說。McKenna says he misses his mother – “everything I am today is because of her” – and the raucous fun to be had in Ireland, the country of his parents’ birth. Still, for now Beijing is where he wants to be.
馬克南說自己想念母親（“自己今天的所有成就都是緣於她”）以及父母出生地愛爾蘭那種喧鬧的逗樂方式。儘管如此，北京還是自己這陣子想呆的地方。“Imagine what it is going to be like in 25 years,” he says. “They are going to have the best sky rail system. It will be absolutely phenomenal.” Should the city ever get too much, however, or should an opportunity arise elsewhere, McKenna is not adverse to picking up his bags and moving on again. “If you need to make changes, change,” he declares. “Don’t be scared.”
“想象一下北京25年後的樣子，”他說。“它將有最好的天軌系統，絕對是不同凡響。”但是，如果北京城繼續不斷拓展，或者說如果其它地方有更好的創業機會，他會不會反對再次整理行裝，到別處發展呢？“若真需要做出改變，我會當機立斷地作出抉擇，”他信誓旦旦地說。“不必恐懼害怕。”Buying guide
購房指南Pros
有利因素Beijing offers many opportunities for entrepreneurs
北京創業機會衆多It is the cultural, as well as the political, capital of China
它是中國的政治及文化首都。Cons
不利因素Cold winters and stifling summers
氣候冬冷夏悶Shanghai, rather than Beijing, is considered to be the top destination in China for bars and restaurants
大家公認上海，而非北京雲集了中國最高檔的酒吧和餐館。Transport links are still in development and make getting around the city hard
交通系統仍處發展階段，逛遍城市仍非常不便What you can buy for ...
購買力￡500,000 A 100 sq metre one-bedroom apartment in the CBD
50萬英鎊可以在北京CBD買一套面積100平米的一臥住房￡1m A 200 sq metre two-bedroom apartment in the CBD
100萬英鎊可在北京CBD買一套面積200平米的二臥住房
