The Origins of Private Home Cuisine 私房菜的由来

私房菜顾名思义，是私人的菜、私家的菜。就是在别人家里吃到的由主人做的拿手好菜。私房菜通常对外无店面招牌，无固定菜单，不设专职服务员，但这些菜的烹调技法往往是祖传的，有独特风味，而且限量供应，在市面餐馆无法吃到。据说这种菜馆多源于古时的深宅大院，位置比较偏僻，各具特色，并且相对低调。
Just as its name implies, the private home cuisine is privately made cuisine, specialty dishes that are cooked by the host and served in a private home. There is usually not a shop sign, no a fixed menu and no a full-time waiter or waitress in a private home restaurant. However, the cooking methods of these dishes are usually handed down from the ancestors and feature distinctive flavors. The supply of these dishes is limited and other restaurants in the market will not provide them. It is said that most of these kinds of restaurants originate from the mansions with spacious halls and large gardens of ancient times, which were located in remote areas. Each of them has its individual strengths and characteristics and they are all relatively low-key.
私房菜起源于古时深宅大院中的美味佳肴，当年高官巨贾们“家蓄美厨，竞比成风”，互相攀比着自己在人生第一要义“吃”上面的品位。在他们的“名品”和自家的名厨的共同作用下，一道道名菜便产生了，由于极其具有自家特色，因此形成了私房菜。
Private home cuisine originates from the delicious dishes of the mansions with spacious halls and extensive gardens of ancient times. In those days, senior officials and rich merchants “employed outstanding chefs and it was popular to compete in terms of decadence”, comparing their tastes in “eating” – the most important thing in life which they shared in common. As a result of their “famous dishes” and “famous chefs”, renowned dishes were created in succession. As the dishes had strong individual features specific to their houses, private home kitchens came into being.
私房菜最为风行时，应属晚清和民国时期，形成了好几大家族，有钱力也有精力去开发自家的私房菜。那时在北京除了“谭家菜”还有段家菜、任家菜、王家菜。
Private home cuisine’s periods of greatest popularity were those of the late Qing Dynasty and the period of the Republic of China, when many large wealthy families had enough money and vitality to develop their own private home cuisine. At that time there were Tan’s Cuisine, Duan’s Cuisine, Ren’s Cuisine and Wang’s Cuisine in Beijing.
私房菜不是大菜，不过“善烹小鲜，可治大国”。其起源有两种说法，一说源于清末，指的是在很私密的自家厨房里炮制出来、无宗无派的菜肴。吃私房菜，也就是大家挤在一个类似家的地方，吃主人的拿手菜，席间或吃罢，主人会出来应酬片刻，几次交道打下来，食客和主人就结成了好友。现在许多名菜其实都是从私房菜演变过来的，比如谭家菜、孔府菜、段家菜等。
Private home cuisines are uncomplicated, but it is said: “those who are good at making simple dishes are able to govern a large country”. There are two accounts on the origins of private home cuisine. One account is that private home cuisine originates from the late Qing Dynasty and refers to the dishes cooked in the kitchen of the private homes and cannot be classified as belonging to any particular school. To eat private home cuisine means that everyone crowds together in a place like a home and eats the specialty dishes made by the host. During the meal or after the meal, the host will chat with the guests for a moment. After coming into contact with each other for several times, the guests and the host will become good friends. Many of the famous dishes of the present day have been developed form private home cuisines, such as the Tan’s Cuisine, the Confucius Family dishes and Duan’s Cuisine etc.
另一种说法，称其乃官府菜的一种延伸。从前官府的厨子，制作菜式均围绕“细致”两个字，环节相当之繁缛。离开府邸后，他们流落于民间，民间的大户人家，吃饭同样讲究个气派，拥有家厨，尤其是拥有官府里出来的家厨，是他们财富与身份的象征。这些家厨在官府菜的制作基础上，为迎合主人的口味，进一步将烹饪技术融会发挥。久而久之，自成一种类别。
According to another account, private home cuisine is an extension of the cuisine of Feudal Officials. In ancient times, chefs of feudal officials prized “particularity” in making dishes and culinary procedures were quite complicated. After leaving the feudal officials, they lived among the common people. The rich families uninvolved in government were also particular about the flaunting of their wealth. They had their own chefs: chefs that had been those of feudal officials, in particular. Chefs are the symbol of wealth and status. Using the cooking methods of Feudal Official cuisine as a background, these chefs further fused cooking techniques together and developed them so as to cater to a host’s tastes. As time passed, these collections of dishes developed into new schools.