VOA常速英语:舌尖上的芝加哥，原来靠的竟是

At Caf? Ba-Ba-Reeba on Chicago’s north side, there is one key ingredient that could make or break Executive Chef Matt Holmes’ menu.
芝加哥北部有一家名叫Ba-Ba-Reeba的咖啡馆，店里主厨Matt Holmes做菜时需要一种非常重要的食材，可以这么说，成是它败也是它。

We feature it in our paellas, which are our signature dish here at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba,as well as use it in a dessert and some other dishes as well, so it’s incredibly important to have high quality saffron.
这味食材主要就是用在肉菜饭，也就是我们Ba-Ba-Reeba的招牌菜当中，另外在一道甜点和其他菜里面也有用到，所以能买到高品质的藏红花是非常重要的。

It is a staple in cuisine throughout Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean,but less so in the United States, where saffron — while a $60 million market is not well-known.
藏红花是亚洲、中东和地中海等地区经常用到的食材，但在美国却用途较少，这个价值6000万美元的市场依旧鲜有人知。

But Rumi Spice, Holmes’ saffron supplier, is hoping to change that.
但Holmes的藏红花供应商Rumi Spice却希望能够改变这种情况。

“We are named after Juhalladin Rumi, he’s a 13th century poet and philosopher who was born in present day Afghanistan,and a Sufi mystic.One of his most famous sayings is, ‘Where there is ruin, there is hope for treasure.’”
“我们以Juhalladin Rumi命名，作为一位13世纪的诗人和哲学家，他出生在当代阿富汗，是苏菲派神秘主义诗人。他曾说过一句特别著名的话：‘何处有毁损，何处就有希望看到宝藏。’”

Kimberly Jung and Keith Alaniz are two of the founders of Rumi Spice,both are U.S. military veterans who served in Afghanistan and returned with more than just combat experience.
Kimberly Jung和Keith Alaniz 都是Rumi Spice的创始人之一，同时二人也都是曾在阿富汗服役的美国退伍军人，而他们回到祖国，带回的可不仅仅只是战斗经验。

“I was never able to resolve just going to Afghanistan, spending time, leaving and never thinking about the place again,especially when you form relationships with people who live there and you understand that, you know, the families.”
“我从没有一次只是单纯的到阿富汗去，呆上一段时间就离开，然后再也不去想这个地方，尤其是当你和生活在那的人建立了很好的关系，从而非常了解他们之后。”

Those relationships formed the core of the business strategy for Rumi Spice —increasing demand for saffron in the U.S. produced by Afghan farmers they met in Herat province.
这些关系构成了Rumi Spice经营战略的核心——增加美国对藏红花的需求，为他们在赫拉特省遇到的种植藏红花的阿富汗农民寻找销路。

Abdullah Faiz is the chancellor of Herat University,which is working with Purdue University in Indiana to develop a special program with Afghan saffron farmers in new markets for them in mind.
Abdullah Faiz是赫拉特大学的校长，该校目前正在与印第安纳州的普渡大学合作，联合阿富汗种植藏红花的农民，共同在新市场制定一项特别的规划。

The department of food technology will teach and give training for the farmers to produce the saffron with hygiene quality.In this case, I well found myself will be able in the future to produce saffron without pollutions.
食品技术部门会对农民们进行教育培训，教它们生产出卫生质量过关的藏红花。在这种情况下，我发现未来我们完全可以生产出无污染的藏红花。

The good thing about Rumi is they have a premium product that’s fantastic to use.And you are kind of doing double duty with the program that they have with helping farmers in Afghanistan and helping women,being a positive influence instead of just selling a product, so you really get the best of both worlds.
关于Rumi非常好的一点是，他们的产品质优价高，加到菜里面味道很棒。而且这个规划实际上完成了双重任务，因为一方面他们是在帮助阿富汗的农民和女性，另一方面除了销售产品，他们还产生了非常积极的影响，完全是两全其美。

Investors are taking note.Rumi Spice attracted $250,000 investment commitment from entrepreneur Marc Cuban on the TV show “Shark Tank,”signaling his faith in Rumi Spice, and the potential for saffron grown in Afghanistan.
这也引起了投资者们的注意。企业家Marc Cuban在电视节目“创智赢家”中承诺给Rumi Spice 25万美元的投资，表明了他对Rumi Spice以及阿富汗藏红花潜力的信心。145.6153.9159.9

Kane Farabaugh, VOA news, Chicago, Illinois.
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