Haute CUISINE
Hina’s top-quality binchotan is shipped directly from Japan
it often does in its American counterpart, but in perfecting the preparation and presen-
Cleary was the first American chef to train at the acclaimed restaurant under revered
tation of the dish. Despite its ubiquity in Japan, the high-level preparation of yakitori is
yakitori chef Kazuo Nakayama, where he was put to the test—the culture of overwork
exacting, demanding both accuracy and precision. If one fine-tunes the process—from
was persistent, and trivial slips magnified. He commuted by bike through Japan’s notori-
the thoughtful sourcing of ingredients to mastering the timing of the grill—yakitori can
ously muggy summers, monsoon season, even snow, including a record-breaking storm
transcend its humble origins.
that shut down Tokyo’s famously infallible trains for days.
TRIAL BY FIRE
ORIGIN & CAUSE
On a regular night, chefs Rich Lee (Yardbird Hong Kong, In Situ) and Brian Shin (Alin-
Wisps of smoke curl around the skewers. Below, sticks of charcoal flicker vermilion like
ea, Manresa, Benu, In Situ) flank Cleary. As I watch him and his well-oiled team during
tubes of lava. Hina uses a mixture of Wakayama Kishu and Kamitosa binchotan, Japan’s
dinner service one Saturday, Michael Pollan’s documentary, Cooked, comes to mind. In
highest-grade charcoal, which emits infrared waves that cook the meat while imparting
it, he reflects on the theory that cooking meat over fire is what kick-started our evolution,
a subtle smokiness. Cleary shows me a box of the silvery-black sticks, clinking against
what made us human. “To see people whose appreciation of that is undiminished is
one another with a metallic ring—a tell-tale sign of high-quality binchotan. He tells me it
kind of thrilling,” he says. Such is the case here, as I observe Lee fanning the coals with
took his team more than a year to convince the maker, living in a rural town in Wakay-
a traditional uchiwa (Japanese fan) while Brian tops a trio of kanpachi with droplets of
ama Prefecture with no mobile phone or computer, to sell it to them. The coal is made
Japanese chili oil. In the middle, Cleary deftly scans the grill, making subtle adjustments
by burning off all impurities in ubame oak, of which a majority of the world’s supply is
here and there—almost like a DJ adjusting the myriad knobs and switches on a control-
grown in Wakayama. The taxing production process leaves behind an essentially odor-
ler. It’s the Chef Tommy & Co. Show.
less charcoal made of pure carbon. From sustainable harvesting to adjusting burn times
It’s a secret nod to Cleary’s life prior to chefdom. Growing up, he was interested in music, producing several albums and even touring worldwide with a hip-hop legend.
for each unique batch, it takes an artisan with instincts developed over time to perfect the process—not unlike yakitori.
Despite his successes, Cleary debated if music was a viable career, taking a job at a
Hina sources its free-range chickens from Pasturebird, an innovative farm near Temec-
family friend’s izakaya in the meantime. To get him up to speed, the owner gave him a
ula Valley. “It’s crazy how they do it,” says Cleary, describing his tour of the regenerative
stack of books showcasing Japanese cuisine and the accompanying methods of Tokyo’s
farming system and mobile range chicken coops, moved every 24 hours so the birds con-
top restaurants. As Cleary began studying one particular tome dedicated to the art of
stantly graze on fresh pasture. “Probably the best you can get in America, I would say,
yakitori, he gravitated towards the challenging nature of the dish and yearned to perfect
and I’ve tried them all.” The omakase format at Hina allows Cleary to use the chickens
it. His quest led him to Tori+Salon, one of the restaurants featured in the book, where he
without waste, ensuring each diner receives exactly half a bird. Among the highlights:
landed an apprenticeship working 15 hours a day, six days a week. He got his foot in the
Sot l’y laisse, the delicate, dark oyster meat served with an Osetra caviar-topped chich-
door by offering to work without pay and sold everything he owned, including a collec-
arrón; tsukune, a chicken “meatball” dipped in tare and a golden sphere of yolk; and
tion of more than 10,000 records he had amassed since childhood, to finance his year of
charred florets of broccolini, the current seasonal vegetable, served on a creamy pat of
yakitori enlightenment abroad.
garlic soy butter and finished with grated karasumi.
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PHOTO CREDITS: PAGE 51 ©JONATHAN RACUSIN PAGE 52 CLOCK WISE FROM TOP LEFT ©JONATHAN RACUSIN; ©CHANEL CHANG
Kawa, the crisped chicken skin skewer topped with salmon roe and tendrils of shiso
