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Tuna Tartare Turns 25
By Gerry Furth-Sides

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, Chaya Brasserie's Corporate Executive Chef Shigefume Tachibe can consider his tuna tartare creation very flattered. It has become as much of a menu fixture as the Cobb salad from the Brown Derby, or the French Dip sandwich from Phillipe's.

Now it's served just about everywhere. And it's made with everything from mango to pears, prunes and butternut squash. Tuna tartare "cones" served in a wooden holder has been a Spago signature for years. And, almost as proof that the "tartare" has hit the wall as far as variation could go, a chef at the Westlake Four Seasons recently began toying with the cone, making it out of a light, crusty tempura.

The word "tartare" is derived from the name Tartars who hailed from Eastern Europe and part of Asia a few centuries ago. A sort of street food, steak tartare is made from finely chopped or ground raw beef.

The classic form of presentation is with onions, capers and seasonings (fresh ground pepper and Worcestershire sauce or Tartare sauce), on thinly sliced rye bread. Until health laws put a stop to it, a raw egg sat on top.

Flash forward to 1983 at Chaya Brasserie when Chef Tachibe first put the dish on a menu (thechaya.com). Originally Tachibe created the dish to please a dinner guest who wanted "something healthy and fresh with fish," as he put it. So he mixed cubes of fresh, raw tuna with egg, chopped pickles and onion. Instead of the flat old steak tartare mound, Chef raised it to a new level by neatly placing the tuna mixture in a ring mold and carefully laying a few chives on the side.

Chef Tachibe named it "tuna tartare" to honor his background in Franco-Japanese cuisine since his training began in formal French technique at the age of fifteen at the Hotel Ban Show Row in Nagasaki, Japan. The rest is history.

The original version remains purist in Beverly Hills, still served with avocado and a squeeze of lemon. At Chaya Venice, the tartare is spiked with wasabi; in San Francisco, it's with apple and chile-miso vinaigrette. Chaya still sells more than 35,000 orders a year.
Chef Tachibe's own background also includes a stint as an exchange chef at the restaurant Gannino in Milan, Italy, ('too difficult to get a French visa!").

Who knows if he wasn't influenced by the story of carpaccio (a chef creating an easy-to-eat thinly sliced, marinated beef dish for a customer)?

In any case upon returning to Japan, Tachibe was named Executive Chef at La Marée de Chaya in Hayama, Japan. His experience with French and Italian cooking coupled with Japanese cuisine became the fusion that is now synonymous with Chaya Restaurants.

A lover of healthy foods, and looking 20 years younger than his age to prove it, Chef Tachibe also created and directed the launch and expansion of M Café, the cafeteria- style restaurant, featuring contemporary macrobiotic cuisine that opened in 2005.

Chaya is especially proud to serve what has become a signature dish, tuna tartare during the all 25th Anniversary celebration this season. It honors an unprecedented history of restaurants owned and operated by the same family both in Japan and California for 390 years.

To mark the occasion, CHAYA Brasserie is launching a new menu and a new charity partnership with the C-CAP (Careers in Culinary Arts Program) by "adopting" or funding three schools for a year.

Chaya Brasserie's Tuna Tartare

(Makes 6 to 8 servings)

1 pound sushi-grade or ahi tuna, diced
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped sweet pickles
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 pinch finely chopped tarragon
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 tablespoon finely chopped green peppercorns
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 avocado, thinly sliced cross-wise.
Melba toasts or crostini, for serving

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the Dijon mustard. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified and mayonnaise-like. Stir in the pickles, onion, tarragon, chives and peppercorns. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Fold the dressing into the tuna, spread on toasts or crostini and top with a slice of avocado.

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