【我眼中的中國工匠】趙會連：向世界展示中式點心的魅力

工匠簡介：趙會連，北京首旅酒店集團北京市民族飯店面點廚師長。2020年12月，被評為北京市勞動模范。2021年4月，入選第二屆“北京大工匠”。他制作的象形點心因其獨特創意及工藝多次獲得國際大獎。

Craftsman profile: Huilian Zhao, head pastry chef at Minzu Hotel in Beijing (affiliated to the BTG Hotel Group), has won many titles and awards for his creativity and craftsmanship in pastry-making both at home and abroad. He won the title of “Beijing Model Worker” in December 2020 and was named one of the influential figures in the “Beijing Craftsman Spirit Campaign” in April 2021.

2022年7月，來自馬里的留學生張衣笙和來自哥斯達黎加的留學生楊思思來到北京民族飯店，向趙會連學習象形點心制作，感受這項技藝的獨特魅力。

On a July day in 2022, two international students came to visit Huilian Zhao, head pastry chef at Beijing Minzu Hotel, to learn how to make creatively shaped Chinese pastries. The two students are Yisheng Zhang from Mali and Sisi Yang from Costa Rica.

楊思思和張衣笙品嘗了趙會連制作的象形點心。在楊思思被“象形蘋果”吸引的同時，張衣笙也驚嘆于核桃酥的美味。趙會連現場教兩位留學生制作象形點心之一——核桃酥。在趙會連耐心指導下，兩位留學生很快就能上手了。張衣笙直呼“太厲害了！”

Upon their arrival, they tasted some of the creatively shaped pastries made by Chef Zhao. They are stunned by the exquisiteness and great taste of these food. Yang exclaimed over a one that looks exactly like an apple, and Zhang kept saying “yummy” after tasting a “walnut”. And then, Chef Zhao began to show them how to handmake a walnut-shaped pastry. Under his guidance, the two students soon got the hang of it. "Awesome!" Yisheng murmured exultingly. 

這些點心不僅造型精美，更被賦予了美好的寓意。核桃酥的諧音“和” ，意為“和和美美，美美與共”。而它與“象形蘋果”的組合即為“和平”，象征著世界和平。這些奇妙的寓意也讓楊思思驚嘆：“這些糕點不僅漂亮，還有獨特的寓意，真是奇妙！”

Besides, these pastries also reflect good wishes. The beautiful walnut-shaped pastry signifies "harmony and beauty”, as, in Chinese, the first character of “walnut”(hetao) is the homonym for "harmony"(he). If paired with an apple, it will mean world peace, as the Chinese word they formed is pronounced the same as "peace"(heping). "How brilliant! These pastries not only look beautiful, but also convey good wishes," Yang said admiringly.

當談到自己的面點制作之路，趙會連笑道：“當時是中秋節，看著師傅示范制作的精致面點，我一下就吸引住了。”因那時缺人手而被臨時叫去車間做面點的趙會連也許不會想到，這些巧奪天工的食物將與他相伴一生。而現在這些面點工藝已吸引了各國友人前來觀摩學習。

When asked how he started his career in pastry-making, Huilian Zhao replied smilingly, "I began to be interested in it when I saw a chef demonstrate how to make pastries at a Mid-Autumn Festival. I can’t help marveling at the exquisiteness of the artisan food. Since then, I began to love it. " Mr. Zhao, who was then just asked to work temporarily in the workshop due to chef shortages, wouldn’t have thought that he would become a pastry chef later and pursue the career for the rest of his life. Today, many foreigners, attracted to his delicate pastries and superb craftsmanship, have come to visit him，wanting to see him at work. 

創意和精巧的手藝使點心從尋常巷陌走向國宴大堂，從北京走向了世界，趙會連向世人展示著中式點心制作的魅力。他是國家級面點大師，更是具有工匠精神的中國匠人。

Creatively delicate pastries made by Chef Zhao, which used to be served just for ordinary customers in a Beijing hotel, have now been in the state banquet menu and started to be known to the world. Huilian Zhao is presenting, in his own way, to the world the great charm of Chinese pastries. Chef Zhao is much more than a national master in pastry. He is also one of the Chinese artisans representing the spirit of craftsman.

在這次體驗中，留學生們不僅了解了象形點心的制作過程，更感悟到獨屬于中國的匠人精神。趙會連用行動向世人講述著具有東方韻味和中式優雅的面點背后的故事。

After this hands-on experience, the two international students learned the basic procedure for making creatively shaped Chinese pastries, and more importantly, gained a better understanding of the Chinese craftsman spirit, the very working attitude seen in Huilian Zhao, who kept pursuing excellence in pastry-making in the hope of spreading Chinese pastries exhibiting oriental beauty and Chinese-stye elegance all over the world. 

指導單位：全國總工會新聞中心 北京市人民政府新聞辦公室

Instructor:The News Center of ACFTU   Information Office of Beijing Municipality

聯合出品：中國互聯網新聞中心 北京第二外國語學院

Produced by China International Information Center(CIIC) and Beijing International Studies University(BISU)

出品人：王曉輝

Presenter: Xiaohui Wang

總監制：楊新華 張嚴

Executive Producer:Xinhua Yang　Yan Zhang 

總策劃：蔡曉娟 鞏琳萌 魯楠 白巖

Producer:Xiaojuan Cai　Linmeng Gong　Nan Lu　Yan Bai

執行策劃：劉穎 馬憲超 栗衛斌 徐興田

Line Producer:Ying Liu　Xianchao Ma　Weibin Li　Xingtian Xu 

攝制團隊：梁均羽 楊昊 高佳慧 劉愉麒 李伊琳 唐藝文 李潤祥 周睿知 劉靖 柯安米 李苑童

Filming team: Junyu Liang　Hao Yang　Jiahui Gao　Yuqi Liu　Yilin Li　Yiwen Tang　Runxiang Li　Ruizhi Zhou   Jing Liu　Anmi Ke　Yuantong Li

宣發：雷瀅 李智

Publicist: Ying Lei　Zhi Li

審譯： 孫巍偉 張艷玲

Translation: Weiwei Sun　Yanling Zhang

后期制作：趙超 吳狄 宋子龍

Post-Production: Chao Zhao　Di Wu　Zilong Song