三個禮拜前我們去看了紀錄片-[壽司之神 Jiro Dreams of Sushi]。無論你是否喜歡壽司, 只要你對壽司製作的藝術有一點興趣的話, 你一定能真心的欣賞這部影片。片中沒有複雜12種食材的花壽司, 只有好米煮出的好飯配上專門打造的醬汁與上等的生魚片。

Three weeks ago we went to see the documentary – Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Whether you like sushi or not, if you have a slight knowledge of the art of sushi making, you would appreciate this film. there is nothing fancy like the 12 ingredients rolls, Jiro only makes simple well cooked rice and pair it with high quality sauce and exceptional seasonal raw fish.

本來就期待會看到令人垂涎的壽司, 但沒有想到的是我看到一個職人認真的講述工作的藝術還有他對食物的理念。對於壽司, 次郎師傅只願意提供客人用當季且最高品質食材作出的成品。每一位來用餐的客人都只能點主廚推薦的壽司。而每一天的壽司清單取決於當天在魚市買進的鮮魚, 每一天都不同, 每一個節氣魚類也不同。因此不管食用次郎師傅手捏的壽司多少次, 享用的食材也一定不會相同。在片中他也提到在當壽司職人的數十年內, 他看到了不少種類的漁獲絕跡, 而這些魚類也自然從壽司清單中銷聲匿跡成為傳奇。魚群從海洋中消失其實都是我們人類造成的, 太多品質參差不齊的壽司餐廳及海鮮餐廳都需要大量的漁獲, 而這樣持續貪心的過度捕魚造成海洋生態不平衡, 很多魚類因此絕種。這樣的話語讓我非常認真的考量某些食材應當作奢侈, 偶爾食用就好, 絕對不應該成為天天上餐桌的料理。為了我們的下一代和他們的下幾代思考的話, 我們應該更愛護這個地球。

I expected to see mouth-watering sushi in the film, but what I didn’t expect was a man talking about work ethics and his philosophy about food. Master Jiro believes in serving the best and he believes in serving within the season. Every customer who dines at Jiro’s will only be able to order the omakase(chef’s recommendation) set. He builds the menu around what is available at the market, so every visit would be different. He mentioned in the film that throughout his career, he’s seen certain variety of fish disappearing from the market and has to ultimately be removed from his menus. It is the result of over-fishing and our great demand. Because of the popularity of sushi and seafood restaurants, over-fishing has become a real problem for the healthy life-circle in the ocean. It made me think seriously about treating certain food type as occasional luxury instead of regular dishes on the dining table. We’ve got to think about our next generation and their future generations, we’ve gotta save the earth for them.

這個紀錄片讓我學了很多, 包括了對職業的堅持, 永遠給客人最好的體驗, 還有不過量但精挑細選的吃好。雖然都是基本的理念, 但這部片又敲醒了我內心的鐘。還沒看過的朋友們一定要去看, 它令人無限感動。

＊順便附上2011年Cool-NY採訪導演David Gelb的好文。

This was such a great documentary, I learned what it means to have persistence in a profession, to bring best experience to the customers and to eat well but sensibly. If you have not seen this documentary, go see it, I was utterly inspired.

＊Also take a look at a 2011 interview Cool-NY had with director David Gelb.