Nicolas Sarkozy has done away with the high-fat stuff altogether after meals |
It is an admission that is verging on sacrilegious for a French president. But Nicolas Sarkozy's top chef has revealed that the French head of state has banned cheese from the table at the Elysée Palace. Charles de Gaulle once famously declared: "How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?" The fitness mad Mr Sarkozy has chosen to remove the source of De Gaulle's angst from his sight, according to presidential chef Bernard Vaussion, who is cooking for his fifth French head of state. The French were famously dubbed "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" by irate US Republicans when they failed to support the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But Mr Sarkozy has done away with the high-fat stuff altogether after meals, his chef explained, as "it was too much" for him. His cheese aversion even threatened to spark a diplomatic incident last October, when he offended Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, by telling another EU leader that over dinner "she says she is on a diet and then helps herself to a second helping of cheese". The health-conscious leader opts instead for "light, balanced meals and poultry to red meat", his chef said, in a clear break with his predecessors who were not afraid of heartier fare, even at lunchtime. The French had already found it hard to swallow the fact that their leader drinks no wine, a source of great national pride. The latest revelation risks striking another symbolic blow to the leader's credentials as a flag-bearer of French gastronomy. On the advice of his former supermodel wife, Carla, 13 years his junior, the one-time chocoholic president has been on a draconian fitness and nutrition programme for most of his presidency, served a frugal diet of fish, vegetables, salads and sorbets. Cottage cheese, it is believed, still makes the grade. Some blamed the low-calorie diet on Mr Sarkozy collapsing in 2009 during one of his gruelling daily jogs. (Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
尼古拉?薩科奇的御用大廚透露,這位法國總統(tǒng)將奶酪逐出了愛麗舍宮的餐桌,這對于一名法國總統(tǒng)來說,幾乎是冒天下之大不韙。 夏爾?戴高樂曾有一句名言:“一個人該怎樣治理一個擁有246種奶酪的國家?” 曾為5位法國首腦烹制菜肴的總統(tǒng)御廚伯納德?沃森透露,為了身材而瘋狂的薩科奇決定將戴高樂憂心的根源移出視線。 2003年法國未能支持美國進(jìn)攻伊拉克,當(dāng)時惱怒的美國共和黨人就冠以法國人“吃奶酪的投降猴子”的稱號。 但是薩科奇的大廚解釋道,這位法國總統(tǒng)已經(jīng)摒棄了這些餐后的高脂肪食物,它們實在讓他無法忍受。 在去年十月份的時候,他對奶酪的厭惡甚至差點(diǎn)引起一場外交事故。當(dāng)時,薩科奇在席間對另一位歐盟領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人說:“她(德國總理安吉拉?默克爾)說她在節(jié)食,然后卻一再取奶酪吃”,這句話惹到了默克爾。 他的大廚還說道,這位重視健康的總統(tǒng)選擇了“用清淡、均衡的食物和家禽代替紅肉”,這和不忌憚豐盛食物的前幾任總統(tǒng)完全不同,甚至午餐也如此。 法國已經(jīng)很難接受他們的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人不喝葡萄酒,因為葡萄酒是法國民族自豪感的來源之一。而最新的奶酪禁令將再次給這位領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的“法國美食旗手”資格造成象征性沖擊。 在比自己小13歲、做過超模的妻子卡拉的建議下,曾經(jīng)酷愛巧克力的薩科奇總統(tǒng)在任期的大部分時間里一直進(jìn)行著嚴(yán)格的健身和營養(yǎng)計劃。他僅吃魚類、蔬菜、沙拉和冰沙等食物。不過據(jù)認(rèn)為白干酪還是被列入了薩科奇的食譜。 2009年薩科奇曾在一次艱苦的慢跑鍛煉中暈倒,有些人將這歸咎于他的低熱量飲食。 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 陳丹妮 編輯:Julie) |
Vocabulary: sacrilegious: 犯瀆圣罪的;該受天譴的 angst: 不安,憂慮,擔(dān)心 do away with: 廢除;去掉 aversion: 厭惡,反感 hearty: 豐盛的;營養(yǎng)豐富的 fare: 伙食,食物;飲食 gastronomy: 美食法 chocoholic: 嗜食巧克力者 draconian: 嚴(yán)苛的;殘酷的 sorbet: 冰沙 cottage cheese: 白干酪 make the grade: 達(dá)到標(biāo)準(zhǔn) gruelling: 累垮人的 |