At 27, Rui Mota has possibly seen more Michelin stars and worked with more world acclaimed chefs than any other cook in his native country, Portugal. A learned professional holding higher education degrees in food design, chemistry and psychology, he decided to apply his impressive academic and field experience to teaching Portugal’s next generation of chefs the secrets of food design and molecular cuisine in the country’s top cooking schools.
27岁的Rui Mota来自葡萄牙，他见识过的米其林星级餐厅以及合作过的世界知名大厨，可能比其他任何一位葡萄牙厨师都要多。Rui Mota拥有食品设计、化学和心理学的高等教育学位。作为一名博学多闻的厨师，他决心利用自己丰富的学术背景和行业经验，向葡萄牙顶级烹饪学校的下一代厨师传授食品设计和分子烹饪的奥秘。
Was it your stay at Heston Blumenthal's that sparked off your interest in molecular cuisine?
您对分子料理的兴趣是否源于在Heston Blumenthal餐厅中的工作经历？
When I arrived at Blumenthal's Fat Duck I discovered a whole new approach to food, an extreme application of chemistry to gastronomy. In that sense the Fat Duck was the dream place to work at, but it was hard work, too: 17 hours a day, always running, always pushing for perfection, but in the end it made me the chef that I am today. I can say that my journey as a chef is based on my experience in the many different countries where I worked alongside those famous chefs. In addition, my academic background in food chemistry, food engineering and microbiology helps me to precisely develop and test recipes, respecting the nature of ingredients, and their processing methodologies.加入Blumenthal的Fat Duck餐厅后，我见识到一种全新的烹饪方法，它将化学完美应用于美食中。从这个角度来说，Fat Duck是我梦想中的工作场所，不过那里的工作也很辛苦：每天17个小时，时刻要小跑着，总是得精益求精，但这段工作经历造就了今天成为厨师的我。可以说，在各个国家与众多知名大厨的合作经验共同塑造了我的厨师生涯。此外，得益于在食品化学、食品工程和微生物学方面的学术背景，我能够精确地开发和测试食谱，尊重食材的本味及其加工方式。
Vista Alegre Atlantis在“大厨系列”中的产品设计（餐盘设计过程：从概念到落地）
What about the visual element of your creations?
您对自己创作中的视觉元素怎么看？
If I hadn't become a chef, I would have been a designer. I think it's really important to include design as a subject in cooking schools. Things are starting to move in that direction now, but at the time I only had the opportunity to study design during my master's degree. The title of the Master's thesis was "Food Design and Psychophysiology of the Human Senses". Food Design is important throughout the whole creation process of a new dish, concept or food event.如果没有成为厨师，我可能会成为设计师。我认为非常有必要把设计作为一个科目引入烹饪学校。如今的确有不少烹饪学校开始这样做，但在我读书期间，直到硕士阶段才有机会学习设计。我硕士论文的题目是“食品设计与人类感官的心理生理学”。食品设计是新菜肴、概念或食品活动的整个创造过程中的关键一环。
What’s the importance of the quality of ingredients?
食材品质的重要性是什么？
One very important concept is that of sustainability, which is not only about the environmental impact of food production and sourcing but also about the overall economics of the food system. When I was working at L'Air du Temps, in Belgium, they had 6 hectares of fields around the restaurant where they grew their own vegetables, herbs and produce to the highest possible quality standards. Food design nowadays must take these aspects into consideration, and put sustainability into the equation.可持续性的概念至关重要，这不仅有关食品生产和采购的环境影响，也有关食品系统的整体经济效益。我曾在比利时的L'Air du Temps餐厅工作。该餐厅周围有6公顷的田地，用于种植高品质的蔬菜、香料和农产品，以满足餐厅的需求。如今的食品设计必须考虑到这些方面，并将可持续性纳入考量。
漂浮的开胃菜，开启Mota硕士论文中感官菜单的视觉幻象
Do health considerations also play a role in food design?
健康考量是否会影响食品设计？
Today, there's more awareness about the health aspects of food, but since the trend started with health-conscious home chefs, recipes and processes tend to be quite simple and unattractive. People say vegan food is boring, but I want to change that perception. My intent is to make healthy eating part of the experience at top establishments by teaching the next generation of chefs how to do it in a creative way.如今，人们越来越关注食品健康。不过，这一趋势始于家中具有健康意识的掌厨者，所以其食谱和烹饪过程往往简单乏味。人们说素食索然无味，但我想转变这种看法。我希望教会下一代厨师如何在健康饮食中注入创意，使其成为顶级餐厅体验的一部分。
“I’ve designed some of the strangest things, like floating food or luminescent ingredients that would glow in the dark”
“我设计过一些与众不同的东西，例如漂浮食物或夜光食材”
Gin&Tonic的反向球化
Rui Mota earned a bachelor's degree in Lisbon's High Institute of Tourism & Hospitality, majoring in Food Management & Food Production. During his studies he went on internships at Heston Blumenthal's legendary Fat Duck restaurant in the UK, and at Jordi Cruz's ABaC in Barcelona, both donning 3 Michelin stars. He then earned a master's degree in Gastronomical Science, more specifically in the chemistry and physics related to cooking. During that master's he did two more internships: the first one in Belgium at L’Air du Temps, a two-Michelin-stars restaurant in the Namur area with a strong focus on sustainability. Finally he went to El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, one of the best restaurants in the world. Today, he dedicates himself to teaching - he is currently involved with 4 top cooking schools - while consulting for leading international brands.
Rui Mota拥有里斯本旅游与酒店管理高等学院的学士学位，主修食品管理与食品生产。就读期间，他曾在Heston Blumenthal的传奇性餐厅Fat Duck（位于英国）和Jordi Cruz的ABaC餐厅（位于巴塞罗那）实习，这两间均是米其林三星餐厅。随后，他获得了“美食学”硕士学位，掌握了与烹饪相关的化学和物理学知识。在读硕期间，他又参与了两次实习：一次是在比利时的L'Air du Temps，这间米其林二星餐厅位于那慕尔地区，高度注重可持续性；另一次是在位于西班牙赫罗纳的全球顶级餐厅El Celler de Can Roca。目前，Mota致力于教学工作。他任教于4所顶级烹饪学校，并为国际领先品牌提供咨询服务。
可食用花盆，内部为法式蛋黄酱（Gribiche）慕斯和迷你蔬菜
What about technology?
那技术是否会影响食品设计？
In cooking, technology means precision. I would say that there is no precision without technology. It can help in the more repetitive, or dangerous tasks so we can concentrate on creativity and on the more complex aspects of our job. I use technology a lot, from precision scales to sous-vide circulators, to siphons and now even 3D food printers.在烹饪中，技术意味着精确。在我看来，没有技术就没有精度。技术可以承担重复或危险的任务，这样一来，厨师便能专注于工作中的创意和复杂环节。我常常使用高科技产品，包括高精度秤、真空低温烹饪循环器、虹吸管，甚至3D食品打印机。
What’s the importance of the "fun" element?
“乐趣”这一元素的重要性是什么？
I've designed some of the strangest things, like floating food or luminescent ingredients that would glow in the dark. Someone even had me create a yellow steak with a fake fried egg on top. I get to create food that no one has ever seen nor tasted before, it's exciting. Observing the reactions of the clients once they discover it and try it, that sense of "wow", is something that's highly comforting and rewarding. Part of my work is to help restaurants and bars introduce new and innovative recipes in their menus, things that would be unique to them. For a well- known brand, I even created pop-corn that, when eaten, will make you blow smoke out of your nostrils!我设计过一些与众不同的东西，例如漂浮食物或夜光食材。我甚至为某个客户创造了上面覆有假煎蛋的黄色牛排。我热衷于创造从没有人见过或尝过的食物。观察客户看到并品尝这些新奇食物时的反应，那种“哇塞”的感觉，令我非常欣慰且有成就感。帮助餐厅和酒吧在菜单中引入独一无二的创新食谱是我工作的一部分。我甚至为某知名品牌打造了一款爆米花，吃的时候会从鼻孔里喷出烟来！
里斯本四季酒店的同色系多重口感甜点，带来所有感官盛宴
What do you think of new food trends such as gluten-free, low- carb and the likes?
你对无麸质、低碳水化合物饮食等新趋势怎么看？
One of the classes I teach is entirely dedicated to these food trends. We also focus on new, emerging ingredients such as seaweeds, superfoods and even insects. Customers are getting more and more demanding regarding this subject, and it's important for a restaurant to build trust and offer choice to guests who have specific needs. Knowledge of molecular cuisine is fundamental here. It's all about the chemistry and the physics of the process of cooking. My personal feeling about such trends is that they will continue to grow and will need more and more attention on the part of chefs.我所教授的课程中，有一门课专门研究食品趋势。我们还关注新兴食材，如海藻、超级食物甚至昆虫。顾客中的新食品趋势越来越明显，因此餐厅必须有能力赢取特殊需求客人的信任并为其提供选择。因此，我们应以分子料理为基础，着重探究烹饪过程中的化学和物理学。我个人认为这一趋势将不断延续，并成为需要厨师高度关注的领域。
What have you got planned for your own future?
您对未来有什么规划？
Before I'm 30 I'd like to do a PhD in Food Design and Psychology. How we can play with senses, how we can influence them through food. That’s my first goal. Later I’d like to open a restaurant where I could apply all these concepts, offering a different, exquisite experience to diners, here in Portugal.我希望能在30岁之前取得“食品设计和心理学”博士学位，学习如何驾驭感官，以及如何用食物满足感官，这是我的第一个目标。随后我想开一间餐厅，以便应用所有概念，在葡萄牙为食客提供与众不同的精致美食体验。
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