By Wei Rongchi

Waiting for the Delicacy

By Wei Rongchi

R.J.Guo, a legendary Chinese American pastry chef, made his desserts a household name and the top choice at parties and events for people from many different social classes in just several years. It’s believed that it’s not only the taste that makes Guo’s dessert so popular—but that there is also some unknown secret to his success.

Once at a business gathering, some people asked Guo to share his secret of success. To reply, Guo told a story.

When Guo opened his first pastry shop in Boston, he had a very thriving business. If such a trend continued, he would inevitably develop a chain of stores. One day, when Guo was studying a new type of rice cake dessert, he realized that the rice used for dessert could only be found in China.However, if he left the shop and went to China for the rice, it might affect the business. Finally, he bought a flight back to China and closed the shop for some time.

美國(guó)有一位傳奇華裔甜點(diǎn)師郭榮錦，他僅僅花了幾年時(shí)間就讓他的甜品聞名美國(guó)，成為各階層人士舉辦派對(duì)慶典的首選。人們認(rèn)為郭榮錦的甜品如此大熱，美味是一方面，除此之外，他一定有不為人知的商業(yè)秘訣。

一次聚會(huì)中，不少商界人士希望郭榮錦能分享一下他的秘訣，郭榮錦于是講起了他的一個(gè)故事。

幾年前，郭榮錦在波士頓開(kāi)了第一家甜品店，生意十分興隆，照這個(gè)速度下去，很快就能開(kāi)連鎖店了。有一天，郭榮錦在研制新的年糕甜品時(shí)，發(fā)現(xiàn)制作年糕的米只有在中國(guó)才能找到?？蓡?wèn)題是，如果他這時(shí)去中國(guó)尋找食材，好不容易攢起來(lái)的門店人氣將會(huì)直線跌落，生意也會(huì)變差。不過(guò)，郭榮錦還是毫不猶豫地訂了一張飛往中國(guó)的機(jī)票，并讓甜品店暫停營(yíng)業(yè)。

It took him two months to get the raw materials he needed. He got the rice for the dessert after traveling 200 km and arriving at a village in Longji. This town was situated on the rice terraces in Guilin, Guangxi Province.During that trip, he heard that there was delicious and authentic honey in Yunnan. So he took a 3-hour flight, 3-hour ride,and then walked for another three hours to buy pure wild honey for his desserts in a remote village in Ximeng County, Pu’er City, Yunnan.

When he got everything he needed and returned to America, he finally made authentic Chinese rice cake desserts, though a number of customers had left. His clientele was restored a year later.

After this, something surprising happened. In the following years,he would return to China and find materials for months at times, but his business was never affected in the same way as the first time. On the contrary, there would be more customers every time he returned to Boston. What happened?

When Guo prepared the dessert, he put all his efforts in it. The carefully selected raw materials and exquisite craftsmanship received recognition from the customers. The customers do not think it’s a bad thing for Guo to leave the shop, but rather they are happy for his adventure. They knew every time when Guo comes back, there will be some new and tasty dessert. For such quality, they’re willing to wait several months for his delicacies. ◆

(From Chaozhou Daily, April 5, 2017.Translation:Li Li)

這次食材的尋找，花了兩個(gè)月時(shí)間。他繞道兩百公里，來(lái)到桂林龍脊梯田一個(gè)村落，找到了制作年糕的米。同時(shí)他又聽(tīng)說(shuō)云南有更美味、地道的蜂蜜，于是，他又坐三小時(shí)飛機(jī)、三小時(shí)汽車，最后步行三小時(shí)，到云南普洱市西盟縣的偏遠(yuǎn)山村，收購(gòu)到適合制作該年糕甜品的純野生蜂蜜。

食材找齊回到美國(guó)后，他成功地做出了地道的年糕甜品。但此刻甜品店的顧客也流失了不少，直到一年多后才回到最初的客流量。

不過(guò)，令人詫異的事情發(fā)生了。之后的幾年里，他三番五次地花數(shù)月時(shí)間去國(guó)外尋找食材，但他的甜品店生意卻再?zèng)]變差過(guò)，反而在郭榮錦每一次回來(lái)時(shí)還有一段時(shí)間小爆發(fā)。這是怎么回事呢？

原來(lái)，因?yàn)楣鶚s錦把心血灌注到每一份甜品中，食材、做工的精致講究，讓產(chǎn)品得到了顧客的認(rèn)可。顧客們非但不認(rèn)為郭榮錦離開(kāi)幾個(gè)月有多不好，反而會(huì)因?yàn)楣鶚s錦的離開(kāi)而高興，因?yàn)樗麄冎溃看喂鶚s錦回來(lái)，一定會(huì)制作出口感更佳、前所未有的甜品。所以，人們?cè)敢鉃榱诉@份精品等待數(shù)月。◆

（摘自《潮州日?qǐng)?bào)》2017年4月5日）

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