[At an upscale restaurant “Paris Orchid,” which features “French-Asian” fusion cuisine. TJ Liu is hosting a formal dinner for VIP guest Bob Randall. Also invited is the famous feng shui consultant, Hong Kong native C.C. Yip.]
Bob: T.J., this restaurant has an amazingly eclectic menu. I’m having a hard time deciding what to order.
T.J.: I think you’ll enjoy the food. The chef is French, but he’s lived in Asia for years.
Cindy: It’s not easy to book a table here. Fortunately, we have connections. This is your last night in Shanghai.
T.J.: And we wanted to introduce you and C.C. Yip to each other. C.C. is one of the top feng shui masters working in interior design.
Bob: Mr. Yip, it’s really a pleasure to meet you. T.J. and Cindy have told me about you. They’ve been trying to educate me about the ways of feng shui, but…
C.C.: Nice to meet you, Bob. Are you planning to visit Hong Kong any time soon? Maybe put a Diamondback Grille there?
Bob: It’s not out of the question.
Waiter: [to T.J.] Sir, would you care to order wine this evening?
T.J.: [to the others] What do you think, Bob—would you prefer a white or a red? Maybe you could suggest a light white, say a wine from Alsace…
Bob: Well, how about either a Pinot blanc or a Riesling? Either would go nicely with the tuna steak.
T.J.: [raising his glass, after the food has been served and the wine poured] I’d like to propose a toast to Bob and the entire management team of Diamondback Grille in New York. It’s been a great week, and we’ve worked hard. May this be the first of many dinners we share together in a long and successful partnership! Cheers!
Bob, Cindy, C.C.: Cheers!
Cindy: Bob, we have been consulting with C.C. to make sure the locations of the Diamondback kitchen and stoves are OK. The energy flow is important for the business, you know?
Bob: Energy flow? I guess I’m not familiar with that term.
C.C.: Chi. If you know how to place the things—including kitchens—you can cause predictable outcomes.
Bob.: So, Mr. Yip, you think our layout at the Shanghai Diamondback Grille has good chi?
C.C.: Absolutely.
Bob: Well, I’d like to drink to that! [raising his glass] To good “energy,” to friendship, and to the success of the Shanghai Diamondback Grille!
T.J., Cindy, C.C.: [toasting] Cheers! To the Diamondback Grille!
当你需要邀请重要人物吃饭时，最好是采取当面邀请的方式，但是情况不允许时，电话或电子邮件要约也可以。除了告知时间与地点之外，一定别忘了告诉对方你计划的餐馆的穿着要求。例如：We’d like to host you on Friday night at Paris Orchid. It’s a French restaurant. The dress code is suit and tie. 我们邀请您在星期五晚上吃晚饭，在巴黎兰，一个法式餐厅。请着正式西服领带。
在介绍某位重要的宾客时，一般会需要简单说明他的工作经历，你可以这么说：This is Mark Lane, our chief financial officer. He was with Northridge Pharmaceutical before he joined us. (马克连恩是我们公司的财务长。之前曾在北岭药业工作。)或者说：T.J., Have you met Sarah Tang yet? She’s responsible for our call center operations.(T.J.,您见过唐小姐了吗？他目前负责我们的客服中心。)
5. 如何要求对方进一步说明？
当对方在介绍新的信息时，你想进一步了解的话，可以这么问：Energy flow? Is that a feng shui term?(能量流？这是风水的一个术语吗？)或者说：Fusion cuisine? I’m not sure I know what that means. Is that a new trend?(无国界料理？我不明白它指的是什么。这是个新流行吗？)注：无国界料理是最近流行的新型菜系，指的是不明确属于任何地域或国家的菜系，而是厨师发挥创作，结合各国美食特色，自创出来的新菜式。
