My Secret to Creating Real Magic | Christina Tosi | TED

翻译人员: Frank Wang 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

My very first food memory was when I was three or four.

我对食物的记忆 始于我三四岁的时候。

It was a warm day,

那天暖洋洋的，

and my mom had just picked me and my sister up from school,

我妈把我和我姐妹从学校接回家，

buckled us into the back of her dusty blue Ford Taurus.

我们坐在她那辆满是灰尘的 蓝色福特 Taurus 汽车。

She was halfway out of the school parking lot

在开出学校停车场的时候，

when she pulled over to the side.

她靠边停车。

She strangely reached for her purse that was resting on the dashboard,

奇怪的是，她拿起仪表盘上的钱包，

started fishing around for something until she found it.

开始在钱包里翻找， 翻出了一样东西。

Then she twisted around to us,

她转身面向我们，

and she tore open a yellow paper bag

撕开一个黄色的包装，

of slightly melted Sugar Babies.

包装里装着几粒有些融化的 Sugar Babies 牌糖果。

(Audience murmurs)

She poured a few of the pellets into each of our tiny hands.

她在我和我姐妹的的掌心上 倒了几粒给我们吃。

Now, I want to be clear,

有一点要说清楚，

this was not a normal mom thing.

妈妈一般是不会这么做的，

This was breaking several rules.

这有好几个不合常规的地方，

It was after lunch but before dinner,

我们吃过了午餐，还没吃晚餐，

we were in the car,

而且我们还在车里呢。

(Laughs)

we hadn't done anything spectacular to be celebrated.

我们也没做什么值得庆祝的事。

And Sugar Babies are, well, pure sugar.

她给的 Sugar Babies 牌糖果 就是糖，没别的。

I was so confused.

我感到有点奇怪，

But I was a kid, so I took the candy, and I started chewing.

但当时我只是个孩子， 所以我把糖果送进嘴巴，开始咀嚼。

God, I felt like I had just been inducted into the coolest club possible.

天哪，我感觉我加入一个 酷的不得了的社团，

The one that eats candy on a random Wednesday.

可以让我在某个周三吃到糖果。

(Laughs)

And then the world, it slowed down.

此时，整个世界突然慢了下来，

Everything faded.

一切都离我远去，

And then everything sharpened.

一切也都变得清晰起来。

There is only one word for what I felt in that moment.

那时，我心中只有一个词语：

Magic.

魔法。

Real magic.

真正的魔法。

Now, most people think that’s kind of crazy,

很多人都觉得这多少有点疯狂，

three or four years old.

三四岁你懂啥呢。

I don't remember anything about my childhood for years after that,

在那之后几年的童年时光 我就都不记得了，

but I remember that day,

但那一天我还记得，

I remember those Sugar Babies,

那些糖我还记得，

and I remember that feeling.

那样的感受我还记得。

Now, most people think of magic as a trick, right?

大多数人都觉得魔法 不过是骗小孩的，对吧？

Abracadabra.

三二一变变变！

This seemingly impossible act, put on purely for entertainment.

这些看似不可能的魔法 只是博人一笑罢了。

But I'd like to challenge that.

但我不这么认为。

Magic, real magic is not an illusion.

魔法——真正的魔法——不是幻觉。

Real magic is the feeling

真正的魔法是一种感受，

when life transforms from the ordinary into the extraordinary.

一种平凡生活变为不凡生活的感受。

And not only is it real.

真正的魔法不仅货真价实，

It is the very thing that connects us to this world,

更是我们与这个世界的纽带、

to one another,

与彼此的纽带、

to our entire existence.

与全人类的纽带。

It's the spark of a moment.

真正的魔法是灵光一现，

It's the feeling of believing,

真正的魔法是信任的感觉、

of belonging,

是归属的感觉、

of getting,

是得到的感觉、

of being gotten.

是被得到的感觉。

It is the crack

真正的魔法是一道缝隙，

that opens up our hearts and reminds us to let light in.

敞开我们的心扉，提醒我们让光照进来。

Now I own Milk Bar,

现在我是 Milk Bar 的老板，

this quirky American-style bakery

这是一家美式糕饼店，

that I'll tell you a little bit about later.

我们一会再聊这个。

And I have found

我发现，

that magic is often created by breaking some sort of rule.

魔法往往与打破常规有关，

Like the "no sweets before dinner" rule.

比如“吃晚饭前不能吃糖”，

Or wearing overalls to a corporate board meeting.

或者“参加董事会会议必须穿工作服”，

Or simply daring to defy the expectations of the people around us.

又或者，别人都希望你这么做， 可你胆子大，不肯就范。

Now, as a kid,

小的时候，

breaking the rules usually only got us in trouble, right?

不听爹妈话，回家就挨打，对吧？

But as adults, it's a different story.

但长大了，事情就不一样了，

Breaking the rules, pushing boundaries,

打破常规、突破界限、

challenging the norm,

挑战套路、

asking why, why not?

问为什么这样，为什么不这样。

It does something to us.

这对我们来说很重要，

It shakes us from sleepwalking.

这让我们不再浑浑噩噩，

And it makes space for magic to sneak in.

让我们有更多空间施展魔法。

Now I was raised by matriarchs,

小时候，一群阿姨看着我长大，

fierce heroic grandmas who loved to bake in their free time.

她们干劲十足，勇得很， 平时喜欢烤面包。

And they knew good and well that food was for nutrition and sustenance,

食物是维持生存、补充营养的必需品， 这一点她们非常清楚，

but they didn't care.

但她们毫不在乎。

(Laughs)

They'd baked as their way of breaking the rules.

她们不按套路烤面包，

They'd make batches of lemon bars instead of casseroles

她们喜欢做好多柠檬面包条， 而不是用砂锅

or one-pot wonders.

或者其他锅子煮东西。

And they put those baked goods in baggies

然后她们把面包装进包里，

and hand them out,

发给别人，

hand that magic out to the most unassuming people.

把魔法分享给那些默默无闻的人：

The newcomer to the neighborhood,

新来的居民、

the mail carrier or my personal favorite,

邮递员，或者我最喜欢的

the receptionist at the dentist office.

牙科诊所的接待员。

(Laughs)

Now I knew what the receiving end of magic felt like

我已经感受到了接受魔法是什么感觉，

from that Sugar Baby moment.

就是在三四岁吃糖的时候。

But witnessing what the giving part of real magic did ...

但是目睹那些施展魔法的人……

It moved these people.

那些人传递感动，

It was awe-inspiring.

让我油然起敬。

And so I decided

那时，我决定，

that baking would be my way of making magic in the world,

我要靠着糕点施展魔法、

creating a moment and then giving it away.

创造时刻、分享快乐，

A magic pyramid scheme, basically,

要让魔法像接力棒一样得到传递，

that I wanted, needed more of.

这是我想要的，也是我需要的。

Only my mom and my grandmas thought that baking was just a hobby.

我妈和那些阿姨觉得烤面包 只是兴趣爱好而已，

But I knew it could be more than that.

但我认为我可以做得更多。

So I moved to New York City to become a professional pastry chef.

所以我搬到纽约城， 志在成为职业烘焙师。

I went to culinary school;

我去了烹饪学校，

I climbed the ladder of fancy restaurants,

我去了高档餐厅争名逐利，

making fancy desserts to become the very best of the best.

烹饪高档甜品，争当翘楚中的翘楚。

Only ...

可是……

I never found magic in those beautiful, delicate plated desserts.

我没能在那些精美装盘的甜品中 找到任何魔力，

I could only find my magic in a cookie or a slice of cake

我的魔力来源，可以是 一块饼干、一块蛋糕、

or a gooey underbaked pie.

或是一块没烤熟的、黏黏的派。

And so when I opened Milk Bar,

我创立 Milk Bar 品牌的时候——

that bakery that I was telling you about,

就是我刚才提到的那家糕饼店——

I decided I wasn't going to frost the sides of a cake

那时我就做了个决定， 我不打算像教科书上说的那样

like the textbooks taught me.

在蛋糕的侧面撒糖霜。

(Laughter)

I decided I was going to load cookie dough with marshmallows

我决定用自己的配方烤饼干， 比如说棉花糖、

or pretzels and potato chips

椒盐卷饼、薯条、

and butterscotch chips and coffee,

黄油硬糖和咖啡之类的，

tossing convention out the window.

把传统套路抛诸脑后。

I wanted people to eat birthday cake, not just on their birthday,

我认为生日蛋糕 不是生日当天的专利，

but any day they wanted.

而是随时都能吃的东西。

I knew that my magic came in the form of these simple baked goods,

我知道，我的魔力来源于 简单的糕点产品，

but I also knew that simple, approachable, accessible,

我还知道，那些普普通通、 随处可见、价格亲民、

nostalgic flavors

回忆十足的味道

were my best jumping-off place to create new desserts.

才是我糕点创作的最佳起始点。

Almost as though fancy were the enemy of delicious.

对我而言，“精美”似乎 与“美味”不能共存。

I’d go to county fairs to nosh.

我会去小集市里吃快餐，

I'd go to the diner and order slices of pie

会去餐馆点几块派——

from that revolving display case.

餐馆都拿旋转展台展示食物。

I'd take french fries and dip them in chocolate milkshake and dream.

我还会拿薯条蘸巧克力奶昔，

And then I'd go into the kitchen and tie on my apron

吃完后走进厨房、戴上围裙，

and start mixing up a new creation

开始创造新花样，

rooted in something known and safe and loved

创造属于人们甜蜜回忆的味道，

but reaching far beyond what anyone thought accessible.

可这样的味道 是人们以前从未想到过的、

Or approachable.

可能也不敢想象的、

Or doable.

而且没人实现过的。

Breaking the banking rules became my daily ritual.

打破条条框框成为了我的日常，

I mean, who says a layer cake can't taste like salty malty sweet pretzels?

夹心蛋糕为什么不可以拥有 椒盐饼干的咸味和麦芽味？

I mean, my culinary instructors for one.

我的烹饪老师也这么问呢。

(Laughs)

"Watch me," I'd think.

我心想：“看我的”。

And I'd take pretzels,

我拿出了椒盐饼干，

toast them in the oven to deepen their flavor,

并将饼干放进炉子烘烤， 让饼干更入味。

then grind them into a powder-like consistency

烤完后，我把饼干碾成粉末状，

and substitute some of the cake flour in a recipe

然后把做蛋糕用的一部分面粉

for that pretzel powder.

换成饼干粉。

It's pretty good.

尝起来不错。

When I was opening Milk Bar, I knew I wanted to serve ice cream.

刚创立 Milk Bar 的时候， 我的目标是售卖冰激凌，

A rebellious kind of ice cream.

一种我行我素的冰激凌。

No surprise, right?

这没啥问题，对吧？

So I decided to buy a soft serve machine,

我打算买一台软质冰激凌机，

which for the record, was very rebellious at the time.

在当时，这种机器已算是 非常“我行我素”了。

I had to decide what flavor to make.

我需要决定冰激凌的口味。

I mean, why do we only accept chocolate and vanilla

我在想，为什么冰激凌的口味 非得是巧克力或香草味？

as ice cream flavors?

I needed to come up with something better, different.

我得弄出一些新花样， 一些更好的玩意。

Push that boundary.

不按套路出牌。

I knew I had to come up with a flavor of milk

我要为冰激凌创造一款 不同的牛奶口味。

that was different.

Milk is, like, the base of any great ice cream.

牛奶，就像是冰激凌之母。

So I sat out inspiration at my 24-hour bodega.

我去了一家 24 小时营业的杂货店 试着激发灵感。

Favorite place to go.

那杂货店我最喜欢去的地方，

Because that's where we all shop,

因为那里是我们购物的地方，

that's where our simple taste buds are formed,

是激发我们舌头上味蕾的地方，

it's the flavors we know.

那里有着我们熟悉的味道。

Up and down the aisles till I hit it.

我在杂货店走了一圈， 终于找到了那味道。

My favorite section of the grocery store as a kid,

小时候，我最喜欢杂货店里 卖麦片的货架。

the cereal aisle.

Now as a kid, my mom and I had an agreement.

那时，我和我妈就一致认为

I was a pretty picky eater,

我是个比较挑食的人，

and we agreed that I could have as much cereal as I wanted

因此我可以买好多好多的麦片，

as long as I drank all the calcium-rich milk

前提是我得喝下钙含量丰富的牛奶，

at the bottom of the bowl.

要喝到见底才行。

I mean, I thought it was highway robbery.

但我觉得，光喝那牛奶也太悲催了，

Does she not understand how good that sugary sweet milk was at the bottom?

含糖的甜牛奶也有很多营养的， 她难道不懂吗？

That's interesting.

真有趣。

That's a really delicious flavor of milk.

麦片牛奶对我来说就是美味，

It moved me.

让我一尝倾心，

It made sense to me,

让我茅塞顿开，

but would it make sense to other people?

但麦片牛奶能让别人茅塞顿开吗？

Figured I'd give it a try.

我觉得我得试试。

So I went back to the kitchen

我回到了厨房，

and made the equivalent of a giant bowl of cereal.

做了好多麦片，有一大碗。

I strained out all that delicious milk,

我做出了我当时喝的麦片奶，

and I spun it into ice cream.

然后把麦片奶注入冰激凌，

Put it on the menu.

然后开卖冰激凌。

And I've got to tell you, even now,

我得告诉各位，直到现在，

people stop me on the street

马路上还会有人把我拦下，

to tell me about their cereal-milk ice cream moment.

向我讲述吃到麦片奶冰激凌的感受。

"So good."

“太好吃了”、

"Seemingly a little naughty."

“吃起来有点好玩”。

I mean, how did I know that was their flavor?

那我是怎么知道 这种口味适合顾客的呢？

That's the flavor they eat when they're wearing pajamas,

因为麦片奶是我们 穿着睡衣时喝的东西，

when no one's looking.

喝的时候没别人在场。

The flavor of their childhood.

这就是童年的味道。

These people will tell me about every detail of the day.

那些人会告诉我 吃到麦片奶冰激凌那天的全部经历，

They will tell me about the weather, the company they kept,

那天天气如何，那天去哪上班，

the way that an ordinary moment was transformed into something magical

那个小小的冰激凌怎样把平凡的一天 变成有魔力的一天。

with a simple bite.

I built my business with the same "challenge the norm" mentality.

我创立企业所秉承的想法 正是“不按套路出牌”。

Rather than measure my business's success by the profit or loss sheet,

我不按照资产负债表 衡量商业成功，

by the average order value,

也不看平均价盘，

the other metrics that businesses use

其他企业衡量成功与否的标准，

to know if they're doing well,

我都不怎么管。

I decided we'd measure our impact by the twinkle in people's eyes.

我的决定是，我们要关注顾客 对我们食品的感情，

By the "Oh, I can't put that down" feeling

以及顾客品尝我们甜品时

that they had when they ate one of our desserts.

有没有“吃一口就放不下”的感觉。

I chose to put women at the helm of my organization.

我决定让女性担任公司领导层，

Because when I looked around the hospitality industry,

因为我望遍整个服务业，

people running operations, folks holding CEO titles,

那些公司高层、 那些戴着 CEO 光环的人，

they were all men.

他们全是男的。

I mean, why?

我想问，为什么？

I was raised by these fierce matriarchs who handled business,

伴我长大的是一群活力十足的阿姨， 她们也从商，

and I wanted my organization to look like that.

我希望我的公司也是这个样子。

I want to show the world what women were capable of

我想让世界知道女人的能耐，

and what a "bakery" could be.

知道什么是真正的糕饼店。

Push back on that cute little box people like to put us in.

我想跳出世俗所划定的条条框框，

And in turn, the rules broke for us.

而那些“常规”最终会为我们改变，

The magic, our magic, got out.

魔法——我们的魔法——就是这样。

Word spread without us spending a dollar on marketing.

我们一分钱都没花在广告上， 但口碑却已立下。

Rare in our industry,

我们公司在没有缩水的前提下 获得了增长，这一点业界罕见。

we grew our business without diluting the business.

I mean, we won awards

我们公司获得了

no tiny East Village bakery has any business winning.

其他东区小型糕饼店 都没得到的奖项。

(Laughs)

It's pretty incredible.

挺不可思议的。

Even today

时至今日，

I get to witness that feeling,

我依然可以感受到

that same one that my grandmas conjured up in my childhood.

我的阿姨们在童年时的感受。

We ship cakes all across the country,

我们向全国运送糕饼，

we keep our doors open from early in the morning until late at night.

我们的门店早上开张， 到深夜才关门，

It's insane for a bakery to do.

这对于糕饼店而言有点疯狂，

But we do it because we're obsessed with it.

但我们做到了， 因为我们热衷于糕饼，

We're obsessed with what we do.

我们热衷于自己的事业。

We teach classes, we share recipes

我们开了培训班，还分享自家食谱，

despite any concerns of copycats

我们不怕别人抄袭，

or intellectual property infringements,

也不怕知识产权纠纷。

because that's what you do

因为……

如果你能从你看到的一切中 有所收获，你也会跟我一样，

when you benefit from what came before you

and you plan on passing it along long after you.

想方设法把你所得到的传给他人。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

When you know you're here to give, not take,

如果你的初心不是为了索取， 而是为了给予，

and leave this place better than you found it.

为了把一切变得比来时更好……

See, mom, you can bake for a living.

看，妈妈，做糕点是能赚钱的，

Pretty cool, if you ask me.

而且还很酷。

Now I don't have the full equation cracked,

我还没有交出一份完整的答卷，

but I do know that it starts with the decision to act.

但我写下的第一个答案， 是行动的决心。

My mom, she could have driven that car home routinely,

那天，我妈妈本可以像平常一样 驱车送我们回家，

but she decided that that day would not be like the others.

可她决定那一天要与众不同。

She threw out that rule book for just a second.

她把条条框框短暂地抛诸脑后。

I carry this lesson with me,

我得出的道理是，

that every day has within it hundreds,

每一天，世上都有千百个、

thousands of opportunities to create real magic.

无数个创造真正魔法的机会。

Only, they disappear.

但只有伸手去抓， 这些机会才会属于你。

Unless you reach out and grab them.

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）