1．中国悠久的历史、广褒的国土、与世界各国和海外文化的广泛接触，孕育了中餐烹饪的独特艺术。

China’s long history, vast territory and extensive contact with other nations and cultures have given birth to the distinctive Chinese culinary art.

2．无容置疑，中餐烹饪已经名列世界顶尖菜系之林。

Indisputably it is one of the world’s finest culinary traditions.

3．中餐烹调所用的天然配料，品种繁多，几无穷尽；烹调方法，亦层出不穷，不可悉数。足以说明了中餐馆以及中餐烹调之所以名扬海外的缘由。

The nearly endless variety of natural ingredients and methods of preparation employed in Chinese cuisine stand out unequaled in the world, which may very well account for the universal popularity of Chinese restaurants and Chinese cooking oversea.

4．评判中餐烹调的优劣可依据中餐的三大要素，即“色、香、味”。

The three essential factors, or key elements, by which Chinese cooking is judged are known as “color, aroma and taste”.

5．“色”作为“色、香、味”三要素中的首要标准，充分体现在宴会菜肴的装盘、摆放和图案上。最能显示色彩的是首先上桌的那道煞费苦心而精心制作的冷盘。

The “color” of Chinese food, the first of these elements which is so evident in a Chinese banquet, includes the layout and design of dishes, best exemplified in particular by the large elaborately-prepared cold dish served at the beginning of the dinner.

6． “香”不仅是指鼻子对食物的直接感受，它还包括所选香料的新鲜程度以及佐料的合理调配。

“Aroma”implies more than what one’s nose can detect directly; it also includes the freshness of the raw materials used and the blending of seasonings.

7．“味”则体现了恰到好处的调味艺术，当然它也包括实物的质地，以及切菜的刀工。

“Taste”is the art of proper seasoning, though it also involves the texture of food and fine slicing techniques.

8．色、香、味这三要素的高品质，只有通过选料、调料、适时烹调、把握火候、装盘上桌这些微妙步骤的细心协调，才能取得。

These three essential elements, “color”, “aroma”, “taste”, are achieved by the careful coordination of a series of delicate activities: selecting ingredients, mixing flavor, timing the cooking, controlling the heat and finally, laying out the food on the plate for the table.

9．10人一桌的标准晚餐含四道冷盘、四道热炒，外加汤和米饭。外国宾客见之，常常惊叹不已，将其视为一次丰盛的晚宴。

Visitors to China are often surprised when a typical dinner for a table of ten people consists of four courses of cold dishes, four courses of hot dishes, coupled with soup and steamed rice; they consider this a lavish spread.

10．但在中国人眼里，以这种规格的晚餐招待宾客，只是一种起码的标准。

But in Chinese mind, a dinner prepared as above for guests is the minimum requirement.

12．准备10道份量适中的菜肴并不为过，即使献上16道菜，亦不足为奇。

Ten courses of dishes, not necessarily prepared in huge quantities, would not be considered excessive, and few people would blink at sixteen.

13．在中国，一桌标准宴席包括四至八个事先制作好的冷盘，八道现做的热炒、两道观赏性大菜（如全鱼、乳猪、全鸡等），此外还有汤、米饭和点心。

In china, a standard banquet will consist of four to eight prepared cold dishes, eight hot dishes served one at a time, two to four whole-size showpiece dishes