Tadahiro Hayasaka was behind the grill juggling thick-cut, sizzling plantains, simmering black beans and a savory grilled flank steak with ease. Not noodles.
Hayasaka made his mark in New Haven as a Japanese chef. Only now he’s cooking Cuban. And mastering it.
Chef Haya was grilling up churrasco steak at Zafra Rum Bar at 259 Orange St.
Owner Dominick Splendorio opened Zafra in March 2011. Since day one, he knew exactly whom he wanted as his master chef, he said. And when it comes to cooking, Splendorio said Chef Haya only needed to learn the names of traditional Cuban dishes before he took Cuban cuisine to “a whole other level.”
The churrasco steak Chef Haya grilled up would make any carne-connoisseur drool. First, he spiced a flank steak with salt and pepper and threw it on the grill at high heat, occasionally basting it with a mix of butter and oil.
Black beans simmered on low heat and white rice steamed while Chef Haya cut four thick slices of plantain. The plantains hit the pan in a sizzling pool of frying oil and butter.
“They’re very sweet,” he said. “Like a cooked banana.”
After seven minutes, the flank steak hit a perfect medium in the middle. Chef Haya stressed that it’s important to let the meat rest before a knife even touches it.
In the meantime, he grabbed the ingredients for the chimichurri drizzle. Chimichurri is a traditional Argentinian sauce used for grilled meat.
He combined his essential ingredients — chopped onions, garlic, red wine vinegar, hot sauce and chopped parsley — to make a pretty, green-colored savory drizzle for the churrasco steak. A generous pull of olive oil gave the sauce some body.
Last but not least, he added fresh-squeezed lime juice.
“Cuban food uses a lot of limes,” he said.
Chef Haya placed a ramekin of sticky rice he’d been steaming face down on the white square plate. He filled another ramekin with black beans, plating it next to the rice.
The golden plantains slid from the pan, on to the plate. Chef Haya topped them off with the leftover buttery golden syrup.
Then he cut into the resting flank steak like a surgeon.
“It’s perfect,” he said with a smile. Juices ran off thin diagonal slices. Haya carefully fanned them out onto the plate.
This meat-eater’s idea of perfection got even better as Chef Haya peppered the dish with bursts of color. Shredded orange carrot, green chopped parsley and the bright chimichurri drizzle made it complete.
Caitlin Emma Photo
“Voila!” he said. “Bon appetit.”
Splendorio, who also owns Cafe Java around the corner on Elm Street, credited Chef Haya with Zafra’s survival.
“Chef Haya is the man behind the success of our restaurant here,” Splendorio said.
Splendorio didn’t hire an amateur. Chef Haya has been a part of New Haven’s food culture for more than 30 years. He came to the U.S. in 1980. In the 1980s, he worked as the sushi chef at Miya Sushi. He operated his own food cart in front of Yale-New Haven Hospital for a while, then opened his own restaurant in 1997. When it came time to move on from “Hiya’s,” his Japanese noodle restaurant, he became the appetizer chef at the Union League Cafe at 1032 Chapel St.
He started in his first kitchen at age 15, he said. While in Japan, he trained in Japanese and French cooking.
Splendorio said they met while eating in each other’s restaurants. Splendorio used to own a popular Mexican restaurant, called La Granja, on Whitney Avenue. When he left La Granja to open Zafra, he called on Chef Haya for help.
At age 59, Chef Haya gladly took on the Cuban challenge. .
“I try to do things to stay young!” he said.
And at Zafra, he’s injected a new twist into traditional Cuban cuisine.
“A lot of our dishes sort of have a Japanese twist to them,” Splendorio said. “He’s actually been known to do sushi here from time to time.”
Chef Haya makes this Japanese-Cuban fusion happen with a rum-glazed grilled tuna and avocado roll — acompanied by a chimichurri-soy dipping sauce, of course.
Zafra Rum Bar, 259 Orange St., 203 – 859-5342. Open Mon. through Wed. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Thurs. 11:30 a.m.-12:30 a.m.; Fri. 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sat. 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Sun. 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.
