介绍:
Lincoln: Recent news about an Antarctic research station recruiting an expedition team chef has been widespread online. It seems that over here, a chef can earn up to 250,000 RMB per year, which is a pretty penny. Wu You, what do you think? Could you tell us a little bit more about that?
Wu You: Yeah, sure. So, nowadays, if you’re a chef here you can have a tour in the Antarctic research station and earn about 250,000 RMB, which is about $40,000. And also, in this Antarctic research station, they are recruiting some other technicians and electrical engineers, and for some requirements, the chef needs to have rich Chinese cooking skills. They can apparently enjoy the beautiful scenery in the Antarctic, and also see penguins, and they can play basketball and badminton in the room.
Lincoln: You don’t think that’s a bit much, though? 250,000 yuan per year for a chef?
Michael: Well, I mean, maybe that’s a test of his ability, what limited ingredients he can work with. So they spend the whole year there? Even in winter? I mean, is it even possible for humans to stay in Antarctica in the winter?
WY: The Antarctic cold temperature, the winter temperature would be around minus 40 degrees Celsius, and the highest in summer could only be about minus 2 degrees Celsius.
Lincoln: Really? I’ll tell you what – 250,000 yuan might not be enough!
Michael: Yeah, OK. So you have to spend five months of the year in a building? It’s like being in space.
WY: But that was like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Michael: Yeah, I think five months might be a bit much. I think I’d probably get a bit sick of it after a week or two.
Lincoln: This person would obviously have to be incredibly highly-skilled.
WY: And maybe they come from different parts of China [Lincoln: Yeah] and we all know that Chinese cuisine demands skills, because we’ve got different flavours, and also the chef needs to cook and take care of everyone’s taste in the expedition team.
Michael: So one week he’ll be cooking spicy hot pot from Chongqing, and the next week they’ll be having… [WY: Dim sum] dim sum, or something like that, and the next week they’ll be having baozi from Beijing. [WY: Yeah, apparently!]
Lincoln: I’ll tell you what, that’s pretty amazing.
WY: And also, it reminds me of a similar Japanese film which is called “Antarctic Food People”, or “The Chef of South Pole”, so that is exactly the same topic as what we are talking about here, and that was more about the expedition team [who] went to the South Pole, and they are making the ingredients directly from the Antarctic area, and they are taking fish out of the ice and then cooking them directly. But in reality, it is quite different, because there has been some environmental protection rules in the South Pole, so, in reality, they cannot do that.
Michael: Oh, so you’re not allowed to go fishing? [WY: Apparently not!] Oh, no. So you can’t even get any sort of fresh food. [Lincoln: No.] It’s all got to be canned or processed.
WY: Or someone who has those kinds of morals, to live life to its fullest, because when you come back from there, you can always tell this story to your younger generations, and to your family relatives.
Michael: I think, part of me thinks there’s a reason it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
WY: Nowadays, to the Antarctic, tourism should be at least 150,000 RMB, so maybe that is why a lot of people, they wish to go there, but they do not have the chance.
Michael: I think, you know, whenever you see wildlife documentaries, or anything like that about the Antarctic, they always go there in the summer – well, summer, such as it is…
WY: The beautiful time!
Michael: Well, OK, the beautiful time, but the time when you can actually see. For five months of the year, as I’ve been going on about for the last ten minutes, it’s completely dark.
Lincoln: Wu You, do you think you could do it?
WY: If I have the capability, I will go there.
Lincoln: Do you think so? What about you, Michael?
Michael: You mean would I go there, or would I apply to be a chef?
Lincoln: Well, notwithstanding, let’s say, if you had the qualifications, would you apply to do it?
Michael: (sigh) If I really needed the money, then I think that would be a big draw. You won’t exactly be going to the pub every Friday night in Antarctica, will you, so you’ll probably save quite a bit as well.
WY: And then the final question can be: Are you good at cooking Chinese cuisine?
Michael: Absolutely not, so I think it’s a moot point anyway.
Lincoln: Well, fair enough. I don’t think I could do it, I’d miss my friends and family too much.
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