I Went to the Fanciest Culinary Event with a Stomach Bug美食盛会开，胃痛亦可挨

At the Cancun Riviera Annual Food & Wine Festival， I consumed the best food in the world while suffering from acute food poisoning. It was not the festival’s delicately prepared dishes that caused my gastronomical distress， but rather the remnants of my grandmother’s Passover brisket I’d consumed days prior to the event.

在坎昆里维埃拉一年一度的美食美酒节上，我吃到了这世上最美味的食物，尽管当时我因急性食物中毒而饱受煎熬。害我肠胃遭此一劫的并非美食节上那些精心准备的佳肴，而是我前几天吃的奶奶剩下的逾越节炖牛胸肉。

When I arrived at one of the most celebrated culinary events in Mexico， I couldn’t keep my food down. The stomach pangs I experienced were enough to make any tourist remain bedridden… but I had a food festival to attend， damn it！ Like Hunter S. Thompson1 stumbling dizzily through a bustling hotel lobby， I traveled from dinner to luncheon to dinner feeling generally confused and desperately clutching my stomach.

当我到达墨西哥最著名的烹饪盛会之一的现场时，我食不下咽。当时我所经受的胃部剧痛足以让任何一名游客卧床不起……但是我还得参加美食节，我的老天！就像亨特·S. 汤普森昏昏沉沉、跌跌撞撞地穿过熙熙攘攘的酒店大堂，我从晚餐到午宴，再到晚餐，总感觉自己糊里糊涂的，死命捂着自己的肚子。

A culinary dreamworld and a personal hell

美食的乐园，我的炼狱

Some information about the festival： it’s extremely prestigious， and it hosts some of the most renowned chefs in the world. This time specifically featured culinary arts by Mario Blanco， Jorge Vallejo， Jesús Escalera as well as a number of other prominent Mexican and Spanish chefs. The meals were served at six different hotels. The festival is part of Cancun’s attempt to redefine itself not as a Las Vegas-y tourist destination， but as a world-class cultural hub and an epicenter of gastronomic creativity.

这里有一些关于美食节的信息：它久负盛名，全球最知名的一些厨师在此荟萃一堂。这次的美食节主打马里奥·布兰科、豪尔赫·巴列霍、赫苏斯·埃斯卡莱拉等一众墨西哥和西班牙名厨的烹饪艺术。人们可以在6家酒店品尝佳肴。举办这个美食节是坎昆尝试重新定义自身的行动之一，它想要证明自己不是拉斯维加斯式的旅游胜地，而是世界级文化中心和美食创意集中地。

I was hosted by the Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach， whose representatives promptly escorted me to a tequila tasting upon my arrival. The hotel restaurant was called La Joya， where we were prepped on the distilling process of tequila—how the sweet agave leaves are baked for over twenty-four hours， cooled for another twenty， ground and then fermented. The tequila was taken as a shot by the drinker， who then sprinted to the nearest baño2 and deposit-ed the drink into a restaurant lavatory made of the finest porcelain.

负责接待我的是大美洲庆典珊瑚海滩酒店，酒店代表待我到达，即刻就领我去了龙舌兰酒品酒会。在酒店的拉霍亚餐厅，我们先了解了一下龙舌兰酒的蒸馏过程——甜甜的龙舌兰叶先烘烤24小时以上，再冷却20小时，而后研磨、发酵。饮用者小杯喝下龙舌兰酒，然后冲向最近的公共盥洗室，将这种饮料“存入”铺满绝美瓷砖的餐厅洗手间里。

It was only after the intake of several fine tequilas—Resposado， Anejo， 1800， not to mention mescal—that the sensations of abdominal pain and body aches became all consuming. The following night was as sleepless as it would have been if I were being tormented by the bloodsucking Chupacabra3.

直到喝了几种上好的龙舌兰酒——微陈龙舌兰酒、陈年龙舌兰酒、1800龙舌兰酒，更不用说梅斯卡尔酒，我肚子里和身体上的疼痛才达到极致。那天晚上我好似遭到吸血的卓柏卡布拉折磨，毫无睡意。

A malady of disproportionate portions

贪多致病

The following morning I explored the beautiful Coral Beach， and chatted with locals nearby. They were a group of six， about my age， who teetered playfully among the rocks near the hotel.

第二天早上，我游览了美丽的珊瑚海滩，还和附近的当地人聊了聊。他们有6个人，和我年龄相仿，在酒店附近的礁石间嬉闹着，脚步有些踉跄。

“Tengo esto，” they said to me， offering me a cold Tecate.

“我有这个。”他们对我说，给了我一瓶冰镇的特卡特啤酒。

“Sí， gracias…” I responded reluctantly， refusing to deny the graciousness of my hosts.

“好吧，谢谢……”我勉强回道，不想拒绝东道主的好意。

And after a moment： “Quieres otro？”

过了一会儿，他们问道：“要不要再来一瓶？”

Oy vey. They were offering me another beer. Bubbles aplenty were building inside me.

天哪，他们又给了我一瓶啤酒。我的胃里渐渐冒出大量泡沫。

Opulence in the dining room and the bathroom

餐厅与卫生间里的奢华体验

The luncheon later that day， honoring the French cuisine of chef Henri Charvet， was delectable. I enjoyed such highlights as the foie gras croquant， drizzled with apple and balsamic syrup， and the quail in crapaudine4， served with spiced grapes， spinach custard， and pine nuts. The restroom experience was a must to-do. Boasting toilet paper folded like origami of the highest quality， my stall was filled with the impeccable aromas of lilies and lavender.

这天晚些时候的午宴佳肴致敬了亨利·沙尔韦大厨做的法国美食，非常美味。我喜欢这场午宴的几道惊艳菜品，比如浇了苹果香脂糖浆的松脆鹅肝，以及搭配五香葡萄、菠菜蛋羹和松子的去脊蟾蜍鹌鹑。卫生间是必去之地。我去的那个隔间里，厕纸叠如顶级折纸艺术品，还充溢着百合花和薰衣草沁人心脾的芳香。

The Gala dinner， a tribute to Barcelona’s cuisine， was even more impressive. The event was hosted at Secrets The Vine Cancun Hotel. The event sought to repurpose traditional Yucatan flavors in a contemporary way designed for the insatiable palates of food critics and common folk alike.

向巴塞罗那美食致敬的盛大晚宴更是令人印象深刻。这场晚宴在坎昆维恩度假酒店举行，试图以一种现代的方式对尤卡坦传统风味加以改变，以满足美食评论家和大众永不知足的味蕾。

The meal started with small tapas. The dishes that really stole the show， however， were Paco Méndez’s X-ni-pek5 Onion， a single， slightly cooked pink onion marinated in a savory sauce， and Xavi Pérez Stone’s Fish Confitte in Iberian Ham Fat， which cut like butter and melted on the tongue. One dish I couldn’t seem to embrace was the “Escamol，” or ant larva. This is regarded as the Mexican equivalent of caviar. Unlike the Escamol， my stomach possessed a favorable blend of unique acids with a slightly overpowering hint of simmering bile. Its never-ending gargling resounded throughout the immaculate ballroom， eliciting whispers from the crowd.