過去幾年，精致餐飲和休閑餐飲之間的界限越來越模糊，越來越多的餐館不再使用白色桌布——這是精致餐飲的標志之一，而看起來像社區餐廳的地方收費卻越來越高，最貴的需要30美元起步。

走進TAK Room，這是紐約新地標哈德遜庭院（Hudson Yards）里的一處新建筑，是著名廚師托馬斯·凱勒的最新餐廳，凱勒主理的品牌產品包括全國各地的Bouchon餐廳和烘焙帝國，加利福尼亞州揚特維爾的法國洗衣店餐廳（The French Laundry）和距離TAK Room不到一英里、位于哥倫布廣場的Per Se。

TAK Room的外觀可會讓人誤解，整體裝修是中世紀風格，一個大型的開放式餐廳為三巡馬提尼午餐做好了準備，當然了，還有那些熟悉的白色桌布。

然而凱勒堅持認為，TAK Room是一個休閑餐飲場所——或者他更愿意稱之為“趣味餐飲”場所。

“它像美國版的法國小酒館Bouchon一樣，擁有全部的關注點和獨特風格。”凱勒說，“它的點菜方式是按菜單點單。沒有著裝要求。它的出品都很休閑，每一種食物有參考點，是常見食物——無論是烤雞、頂級牛排、土豆泥、蜜汁胡蘿卜、巧克力蛋糕、蟹餅還是凱撒沙拉——所有的食物在我們的文化和這種飲食風格中都很常見。”

凱勒解釋道，人們混淆了高級餐飲和休閑餐飲的價格。“因為我們菜單上有85美元的牛排，人們會說，‘好吧，這是高級餐飲’，這其實是混淆了食物的價格和餐廳風格。”他繼續說，“價格與我們食材的質量有關，而與用餐體驗的水平無關。我們必須意識到這一點。我敢說，我們的牛排肯定是我們可以從優質農場里采購的最好的牛排之一。它的價格是85美元，這個定價是因為它的成本，而不是因為我們是一家高級餐廳。”

The lines between fine dining and casual dining have become increasingly blurred over the last several years, as more restaurants do away with white tablecloths, one of the hallmarks of fine dining, while places that might have seemed like a neighborhood spot are increasingly charging upwards of $30 just to start.

Enter TAK Room, a new establishment in New York’s recently constructed Hudson Yards neighborhood and the latest restaurant from the acclaimed Chef Thomas Keller, whose portfolio includes the Bouchon empire of restaurants and bakeries nationwide, The French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., and Per Se, less than a mile away from TAK Room at Columbus Circle.

But appearances might be deceiving at TAK Room, with its mid-century decor, a large opening dining room primed for a three-martini lunch, and yes, those familiar white tablecloths.

And yet Keller insists that TAK Room is, in fact, a casual dining establishment—if not a “fun dining” one.

“It has every bit of focus and uniqueness that Bouchon has as a French bistro in an American version,” says Keller. “It’s an a-la-carte menu. There’s no dress code. It’s food that is casual, food that has reference points, food that we all recognize—whether it’s a roasted chicken, a slice of prime rib, puréed potatoes, glazed carrots, a piece of chocolate cake, crab cake, a Caesar salad—all these things are very recognizable in our culture and this style of food.”

People get confused with the price of a meal as it relates to fine dining or casual dining, Keller explains. “But because we have an $85 steak on the menu, people say, ‘Well, that’s fine dining’ And that’s where there’s confusion created between price and what style of dining it is,” he continues. “Price is related to the quality of our ingredients, not to the level of the dining experience. And we have to realize that. Our steak, I believe, is certainly one of the best that we can possibly source from an extraordinary farm. and it costs $85 because that’s how much it costs, not because it’s a fine dining restaurant.”

凱勒把TAK Room描述為美國歷史上某一段時期的餐廳：第二次世界大戰后，更準確地說，是美國“最進步、最富魅力”的時代。

凱勒說：“我在這類餐廳長大，因為母親經營著幾家這樣的餐館，美國最好的餐館就是這種風格的餐館。”詹姆士·比爾德美食大獎獲得者凱勒在母親的餐廳里開啟了廚師生涯，他說，他媽媽為了不讓他惹麻煩，就讓他踩在牛奶箱上站在水槽邊洗碗。“我在那臺洗碗機前學到了很多東西，當時不知道，但這些東西對我的職業生涯產生了巨大的影響。”

凱勒打趣說他對烹飪很感興趣，因為他知道自己“不會打棒球賺錢”，他還說，廚房像棒球場一樣，給他帶來了同樣的團隊精神。

廚房還為他提供了旅行的機會，20世紀70年代，凱勒開始沿著東海岸的廚房旅行。到1977年，凱勒在羅德島為導師羅蘭·海寧工作，決心自己也要成為一名廚師。因為海寧是法國人，凱勒就跟著他學習法式烹飪方法，在法國從stagiaire（學徒）開始做起，然后回到美國，在西村開了一家名為Raquel的餐館。雖然開業五年后，這家餐館失敗了（這個地方目前由Shake Shack Innovation Kitchen使用），但事實證明它是凱勒職業生涯的墊腳石。后來，凱勒于1994年接手了法國洗衣店餐廳，當時該餐廳已經開業17年了，凱勒自稱是北加州這家米其林三星餐廳的“管家”。

“我們最終的任務是樹立餐廳中的榜樣，幫助提升行業標準。”凱勒說，“這樣當團隊成員離開我們餐廳時，他們去其他餐廳時——無論是他們自己的還是其他廚房或其他餐廳——他們能夠充分利用從我們餐廳工作中得到的好的部分，加以拓展，幫助新的團隊接受法國洗衣店餐廳教授給他們的理念和文化。”

本地是一種心態

無論是法國洗衣店餐廳，還是揚特維爾路邊更實惠的Ad Hoc，抑或是遍布全國各地的Bouchon Bakery攤位，凱勒經營餐館的第一要義就是使用最好的食材。雖然這些食材并不總是來自于附近的生產商，但這并不意味著他們不是從本地采購的食材。

“本地和地理概念無關——它與食材的品質有關。”凱勒堅稱。對于他和員工來說，最重要的人就是提供優質食材的人。無論他們是漁夫、是覓食者還是園丁，凱勒都把他們視作商業伙伴。

“我們在討論本地時，就好像這是一個地理定義。對我來說，本地與地理無關。”凱勒解釋說，如果你問不同的人“本地”對他們意味著什么，你得到的回答會在25到100英里的范圍不等。“沒有人知道本地的真正定義。”凱勒繼續說道，“和這個概念有關的是他們產品的質量，他們養什么，或者他們捕什么，或者他們去樹林里找什么。如果你這么想的話，本地的概念就可以擴展到任何地方。”

凱勒用他從緬因州斯托寧頓的漁民那里得到的資源舉了個例子，他表示如果沒有漁民把龍蝦、魚、貽貝或蛤蜊送到大多數人認為已經算不上是本地的地方，這個社區就會蕩然無存。“我們必須考慮這一點，因為我們買了他們的魚，才繼續維持著他們的社區。這不僅僅與漁民有關，還與老師、消防員、藥劑師、圖書管理員有關，因為漁民把魚送到紐約市或加利福尼亞州揚特維爾或得克薩斯州的達拉斯，這個社區的每一個人都得到了扶持。”

或者這樣想，凱勒提出：如果本地真的是個地理概念，那么假定我們都同意本地的概念是你居住的地方100英里以內的范圍內。當地只有一個農民種胡蘿卜，他不關心土地，也不關心你，也不關心胡蘿卜的營養，或胡蘿卜的營養價值。他種的胡蘿卜是你吃過最差的。但你被迫購買他的胡蘿卜，因為他是本地人，你是一個只吃本地食物的土食者，所以你只能買100英里半徑以內的食材。然而，有一位離你102英里遠的農民關心他的農場，關心他的土地，關心胡蘿卜的營養價值——關心一切。他種出了最好吃的胡蘿卜。但他無法把胡蘿卜賣給你，因為他不被認為是當地人，他的生意倒閉了，那么那個不關心胡蘿卜的人就是你。

Keller describes TAK Room as a restaurant from a certain period of time in American history: Right after World War II, pinpointing it as a time when America was “most progressive and most glamourous.”

“I grew up in these kinds of restaurants, my mother ran these kinds of restaurants, the greatest restaurants in America were these style of restaurants,” Keller says. The James Beard award winner began cooking in his mother’s restaurants, where he said she kept him out of trouble by perching him on a milk crate over the sink to handle the dishes. “I learned so much standing in front of that dish machine, not knowing at the time, but how it affected my career later on.”

Keller quips he became interested in cooking because he knew he “couldn’t play baseball to make any money at it,” adding that the kitchen afforded him the same kind of team spirit that the baseball diamond did.

It also offered him the opportunity to travel, starting in the 1970s in kitchens along the Eastern Seaboard. By 1977, while working in Rhode Island for Roland Henin, whom Keller regards as his mentor, Keller decided he wanted to become a chef himself. And because Henin was French, Keller followed suit in learning the French method of cooking, starting as a stagiaire (apprentice) in France before returning to the United States and opening a restaurant in the West Village called Raquel. Although it failed five years after opening (the space is currently inhabited by the Shake Shack Innovation Kitchen), it proved to be a stepping stone for Keller, who would go on to take over The French Laundry in 1994, already open for 17 years prior, describing himself as the “steward” of the Northern California restaurant rated three stars by the Michelin Guide.

“Our job, at the end of the day, is to help elevate the standards of our profession by setting the example within our restaurants,” Keller says. “So that when team members leave our restaurants, they’ll be able to go to other restaurants—whether it’s their own or heading up other kitchens or other dining rooms—they’ll be able to take the good part of what we do and help extend that, help inoculate that new group with the philosophy and culture of what we were able to teach them at The French Laundry.”

Local Is a State of Mind

Whether The French Laundry, the more affordable Ad Hoc down the road in Yountville, or a Bouchon Bakery stand somewhere around the country, Keller’s establishments prioritize bringing in the best possible ingredients. Yet they don’t always come from producers nearby, but that doesn’t mean they’re not sourced locally, according to the restauranteur.

“Local has nothing to do with geography—it has to do with quality of ingredients,” Keller insists. For him and his staff, the most important people are those who bring in the ingredients. Whether they’re fisherman, foragers, or gardeners, Keller considers them partners in business.

“We talk about local as if it’s a geographical definition. For me, local has nothing to do with geography,” Keller says, explaining that if you ask a group of people what “local” means to them, you’ll get responses ranging anywhere from a 25- to 100-mile radius. “No one knows the true definition,” Keller continues. “It’s about the quality of what they produce, of what they raise, or what they catch, or what they go into the woods to find. If you think of it that way, local expands to anywhere.”

As an example, Keller points to resources he gets from fishermen in Stonington, Maine, suggesting the community wouldn’t exist without fishermen being able to send their lobsters or their fish or their mussels or clams outside of what most people consider as local. “We have to think about that because buying their fish continues to sustain their community. And it’s not just with the fishermen—it’s with the teacher, it’s with the fireman, the pharmacist, the librarian—everybody in that community is being supported by them being able to send their fish to New York City, or to Yountville, California, or to Dallas, Texas.”

Think about it this way, Keller proposes: If local was really about geography, and let’s just say we all agreed local was a 100-mile radius of where you lived. There was only one farmer who grew carrots, and he didn’t care about the land, he didn’t care about you, he didn’t care about the nourishment of the carrot, or the nutrient value of the carrot. He grew the worst carrot you ever tasted. But you were forced to buy his carrots because he was considered local, and you are a locavore, so you have to deal with a 100-mile radius. Yet there was a farmer 102 miles away that cared about his farm, that cared about his land, cared about the nutritional value of the carrot—cared about everything. Grew the most amazing carrot. But he wasn’t able to sell you his carrot, and therefore he went out of business because he wasn’t considered local, and the person who didn’t care about the carrot was.

“你必須從更廣闊的范圍思考這些事情，告訴自己我們真正應該做什么。”凱勒說，“我們應該做的是支持那些漁民、農民、覓食者和園丁，無論他們在哪里，只要他們能為我們提供出色的食材。”

凱勒承認，碳足跡是個問題。“但如果我們真的想要處理碳足跡的問題，我們應該處理工廠化養殖的問題。”凱勒回應稱，“要想把我的龍蝦從緬因州運到加利福尼亞，可能會使用民航航班，這樣同機的旅客就可以因為我的龍蝦在貨艙里而支付較低的票價。也可以使用聯邦快遞（FedEx）的飛機，這類飛機會因為各種商業原因飛往世界各地，或者為了信息傳遞，或者為了醫療目的等等。與其他行業相比，龍蝦運輸的碳足跡非常小。”

對于凱勒而言，他最希望人們理解的是，可持續性不僅和產品有關，還和社區有關。本土不僅僅和地理有關，而且和品質有關。

“碳足跡是我們都需要解決的問題，我同意這一點。”凱勒說，“但肯定有更好的方法來解決這個問題，而不僅僅是簡單地說你不能把龍蝦從緬因州運到加利福尼亞。”（財富中文網）

譯者：Agatha

“You have to think about these things in a broader scope and be able to educate ourselves on what we are we really supposed to be doing,” Keller says. “What we’re supposed to be doing is being able to support those fishermen, farmers, foragers, and gardeners wherever they are—as long as they are producing extraordinary ingredients for us to be able to use.”

A counterpoint, Keller concedes, is the question of carbon footprints. “But if we really want to deal with carbon footprint, let’s deal with factory farming,” Keller responds. “Because shipping my lobsters from Maine to California, it’s either on a commercial airliner, which allows the people above in the cabin to pay much less fare for their flights because my lobsters are below. Or they’re on a FedEx plane, which are being sent around the world for commerce in many different ways, for information, for medical purposes, for a lot of different reasons. The carbon footprint is very small compared to other industries.”

For Keller, what he most wants people to understand is that sustainability not just about products, but about communities. Local is not just about geography, it’s about quality.

“And carbon footprint is something we all need to address, and I agree with that,” Keller says. “But there are certainly better ways to address carbon footprint than to say you can’t ship your lobsters from Maine to California.”