Table for All with Buki Elegbede

[upbeat music] - [Buki] Fidel Castro, '57 Chevys, Havana, this is what probably comes to mind when you think about Cuba.

During the 1960s with regulations tightening and the government taking a stronghold on its people, Cubans were given a choice, an ultimatum really, you don't like it here, leave, and many did.

Hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled political persecution and came to America during what is known as the Freedom Flights.

Today, we're going to meet and learn about some of these people who made their way and created a lasting community right here in New Jersey.

[Cuban music] [singing in foreign language] - [Buki] When you think of Cuba, what do you think of?

[camera clicking] Cubanos, dancing, rum, and of course, cigars.

Well, I'm off to beat a master blender, but not just any master blender, this master blender is straight from Cuba.

Her family's been doing this for over a hundred years and she is the only female master blender in the United States of America, pretty big deal.

So I'm hightailing it off to Newark, New Jersey, just a stone store away from Penn Station.

I hear the store is a little simple, but inside is a whole other thing.

But first things first, a Cuban staple, the mojito.

But for me, hold the rum, heavy on the mint.

Mm, okay, all right, Kay, cheers to you.

Boy, if these walls could talk, Jimenez tobacco has beared witness to every kind of person, blue collar workers and politicians alike.

At the helm of the business was Peter who suddenly passed in 2020.

But his mark on the world will live on with a dedicated street right here in Newark.

It's now up to big brother, Armando, to keep up the traditions.

I'm getting a very Godfathery, Mad Men feeling from this, would you call it a bar?

- A speakeasy.

- Speakeasy, tell me about your mom 'cause we know this all started with her.

- My mother was the matriarch, she was a boss and you had to work.

We came from Cuba and came here and she worked in factories.

And then she decided to open the cigar shop.

- How do I know what's a good cigar?

How do I know what's the right -- - Well the blend, the blends.

A good cigar is the one you like.

What your taste palate likes.

My mother takes like five different countries, a blend, Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, San Andreas, Mexico and Sumatra.

And she lets it age for three years before she puts it together.

- Oh, so we got just tobacco plants drying out somewhere around here.

- Yeah, they're actually downstairs in the storage room.

- But nothing from Cuba.

- Oh, no, anything from Cuba's illegal in the United States.

- The original Jimenez factory was in Oriente, Cuba.

Not far from Castro himself was born, but was seized by the government.

While the building no longer exists, the spirit of the factory lives on through Nelda Jimenez, the matriarch of the family.

And she's got the Intel I'm dying to learn about.

Los Lectores and a periodista myself, that's journalist to us [indistinct], I had to learn about them from a primary source.

Senora Jimenez, you are the only female master blender in the United States.

Now, does that give you pride?

How does that make you feel?

- No, [speaking foreign language].

- And that's it [slapping hands].

- And that's it.

- Can you tell me about the Lectores?

[speaking foreign language] - Oh, [speaking foreign language].

- [Buki] The Lectores can be traced back to Cuba in 1865.

They would be paid by the workers themselves.

Rolling cigars was repetitive, mundane work, so this was their way to stay engaged and informed.

However, with knowledge comes power, which many factory owners did not like.

That coupled with more machinery and automation and by the 1930s, the Lectores were all but wiped out.

What do you miss most about Cuba?

- [sighs heavily] My family, my cousin.

[speaking foreign language] - Here it's nil.

- Okay, well, I'm not gonna go further into that.

'Cause you gonna start making me go there.

[speaking foreign language] Senora, I appreciate it.

Thank you.

- That's okay.

[upbeat music] - [Buki] Cuba may have a checkered political past, but the real hero of Cuba has to be Jos Mart, a poet and essayist, Mart believed in the power of educating his people.

His life and death became synonymous with Cuba's battle for independence from Spain, which was finally reached in 1898.

And no one embraces Mart's values more than the man I'm about to meet, Adam San Miguel.

I'm on my way to Union City, Havana on the Hudson, where I'll meet Adam at his cafe, Cortaditos.

But he's no ordinary cafe owner.

He started a scholarship program with his own money to give back to the Cuban community, which he's so proud to be a part of.

I've got my Jimenez cigars in the back and I'm on the moves.

But before I could say conga line -- - Welcome to -- - Cortaditos.

- Cortaditos.

[singing in foreign language] [singers applauding] [salsa music] - Adam!

- Okay, you want something to drink?

- I will take something to drink.

[Adam speaking foreign language] [salsa music] Tell me about how this cafe came to be.

- Cortaditos was founded in a very special way.

So my partner, Andres Carrillo, when he came from Cuba back in '03, he was 25, he wanted to found the business, so that when his family came, they'd have a place to work and they'd have a place to have their livelihood.

And so he founded Sweets & Cortaditos.

I, on the other hand, I founded a nonprofit around the same time in 2013, Cuban-American Alliance for Leadership and Education.

We do scholarships for college and a leadership development program for those students.

So Cortaditos is born from a family-owned business, from a Cuban exile, Andres, and from a nonprofit social entrepreneur, son of Cuban exiles, which is me, coming together to have a conscious business around our culture, around our community and taking everything we bring to the table collectively to the next level.

- A lot of individuals who, when they come over, they're the first generations like I am, like you are, there's a justifiable selfishness where it's I have to work hard, I have to achieve for my family because they didn't have before.

How has that shaped who you are being the son of Cuban exiles?

- Yeah, so I think there's something about immigrants and exiles that give you a different DNA.

That there's something to being uprooted from your home, being forced to leave, go to a new land, a new language, a new system, and having to start from scratch that wires you in a different way.

Me, I look at it as an advantage, not a disadvantage.

So my family came from Cuba in the late sixties, early seventies on what it's called the Freedom Flights, which is when Fidel Castro said, basically, "If you don't want to be here, you can leave."

And hundreds of thousands of people got on these planes and left to the United States.

My family included, came here with nothing.

- But you've created this nonprofit and have been giving scholarships to individuals, not family, just other Cuban Americans trying to make a better life.

- Yeah, so I've been fortunate to always have had great people in my life that have deposited in me so much love, that for me it's the drive, it's the motivation that for everything I do.

So from coaches to teachers, to family, to people that work here, their stories deeply impact me.

When I'm thinking about them right now, and I have to hold back because when you know these people, everyone I could list the names, they've contributed so much to me that it becomes not about me, it becomes about them.

And I'm just giving everything that was given me that I've taken advantage of in package form, through Cortaditos, through Gaya and again, when you meet these people, when you hear their stories, and you're fortunate enough to be part of their growth, that's a gift I get to help someone.

- Well, I think we need to meet some of these -- - Let's do it.

- Some of these young hustlers though.

- Let's do it, let's do it.

[upbeat music] - [Buki] All right.

- This is our Ventanita rookie.

- Ventanita.

- This is Luisito.

Luisito is our manager.

- Luisito, pleasure.

- He's a Union City, born-and-bred Cuban American, Gaya student recipient of our scholarship.

One thing you'll see about Luisito is he makes people feel the Cuban culture, which is, this is your home, Buki.

And I mean that, this is your home, come here and feel at home, converse with us.

We don't want you just to have a coffee and be on your phone and leave.

No, we wanna understand your story and Luisito embodies that.

- As the manager of this place, what is the one treat I have to try?

Ooh, 'cause there's a lot going on in there.

I'm trying to get my abs like the two athletes over here.

- So one of the reasons why I had abs in high school was because I'm deathly allergic to eggs.

[men laughing] - Well, I'm deathly allergic to nuts, so -- - Okay, beautiful.

So the only thing I can have is the arroz con leche, very, very good.

- Means rice with milk.

[speaking foreign language] - Oh, my God, [speaking foreign language].

- [Buki] Okay, what's this?

[speaking foreign language] - A pastry with guava.

[speaking foreign language] - [Adam] B-A, B-A, that's just his Cuban accent.

Got to get into that.

Look at that, get that in there.

Tell me, tell me how do you feel right now?

[Adam laughing] Is there party in your mouth happening, is there salsa music playing in your mouth right now?

[muffled speaking] We know.

No, seriously, right?

- That crunch from the pastry.

- Next, what else we got?

- So this is the [speaking foreign language].

- [Adam] Rice with milk.

- [Luisito] This is like old school Cuban.

This is just rice, milk and sugar, so it's very easy to make.

- Lord, have mercy, wow.

- Let me introduce you to another student that works here as well.

[speaking foreign language] So Carlos is a student in Gaya Leadership Development program, and he came from Cuban when he was 17 years old and he's going on to work for Deloitte Consulting.

He got an internship there and they offer a full-time job.

- [Buki] Congratulations.

- [Adam] He's doing Cortaditos as a part-time job just to save up before he gets to his Deloitte career.

- Adam, he shaped my life.

Like I always say always 70% of the person I am today extend to the man standing next to you.

He teach me everything I know.

I say I'm the luckiest person in the world to be able to call him my friend and my mentor.

When you have somebody with such great leadership skill, you get impacted to learn from him.

You see him in a role model.

You see everything he's doing for the Cuban community.

Five years ago, I was walking without shoes in the streets of Cuba, today, after full time offering, basically in a [indistinct] And all of that tends to all the skill I have from him.

- How does it feel to hear that?

- As he's saying it, I'm going through my mind and he thinks I give him so much, but the truth is what I get from him is even more.

[peaceful music] - [Buki] Talking to Luisito and Carlito, I can tell that the people here are special.

Special people making special things, which brings us to the food.

I'm going into the kitchen with Adam and his business partner, Andres, where there're whipping up not one, not two, but multiple versions of their classic empanadas.

Including yes, a vegan empanada, but there's a twist.

These empanadas are baked, not fried.

So you know what this means, I can have more than one.

Don't judge me.

- [Adam] Is that good?

That's baked, that's chick pea, there's no meat in there so that's something that's sustainable.

- Wow, those spices, classic Cuban.

You know, you're gonna get into it.

- We can throw down if you want [laughing].

- As the son of immigrants, Adam and I know one thing for sure, everyone works for their lunch.

Good.

- Yeah.

- Oh, look at me, come on.

- We can get you working back here, Buki.

- Listen, I came to work, I'm all for it.

- There you go.

- Work those muscles.

- [Buki] That's the Cuban sandwiches being made as well.

- Yeah, we've put a little twist to them here.

So we put a little salami, chorizo, and this is smoked ham.

We bake the bread ourselves here every morning, makes a big difference on the whole sandwich.

- What we're doing is we're capturing elements of the original Cuban sandwich, which is the original Cuban sandwich is made in Tampa.

That's like the history of the Cuban sandwich.

Sort of the why is of influx of tobacco workers in those tobacco factories were mainly Cuban, Spanish, German, and Italian.

So to feed those people for lunch breaks, they brought in all the ingredients for each one.

So the ham is for the Spaniards.

The pork was for the Cubans.

The salami was for the Italians and the mustard is that little German thing.

And so what has happened is as it went into Miami and Jersey, it lost the salami ingredient.

And so the traditional Cuban that you see now does not have salami in it, but that was part of the original one back in the 1800's in Tampa.

- La Plancha.

- La Plancha.

Here we go tonight.

- [Buki] All right, smells real good.

Oh, my goodness.

- You go like this, you can feel the bread.

- That's that butter.

All right, now the moment of truth.

- Go ahead.

- Okay, this is real Cubano.

- This is it.

- Okay.

[bread crunching] - [Andres] You took a big bite.

- Mm, okay, I see that salami in there.

- [Adam] You taste it right?

- Yum, excellent.

Tang of the mustard, the pickles.

Come on Germany, come on Germany.

It is very delicious.

So I've had the Cuban pastries, the arroz con leche, the empanadas and the best Cubano sandwich ever, but I still have one more stop.

Thank you, Andreas, thank you so much.

- Thank you so much.

- Appreciate it.

Adam knows I'm a sucker for home cooking, so he's arranged for one of his employees' grandmothers to inundate me with the flavors of Cuba.

Grandma just became a United States citizen.

Felicidad, Ava Abuela.

And Yani, her granddaughter is the social media queen of Cortaditos.

- Hi Abuela, hi Yani.

- Hello.

- Buki over here.

- So, what are we cooking up?

[Grandma speaking foreign language] - We have some white rice.

- Black beans.

- And then we have black beans, okra, or as we call it quimbombo.

- Quimbombo.

- We call it Quimbombo.

And then we are gonna do [speaking foreign language].

It's kind of like a soup.

It has a lot of root vegetables, meats, and it's warm.

It's delicious, you're gonna love it.

- [Buki] Melissa, we call her Meli, is a 2019 Gaya scholarship winner.

A busy college student, and ultimately the reason we're in this kitchen.

When I tell you Adam has an eye for good people, this is what I mean.

- Smells good, doesn't it?

- Smells really good.

- Growing up, food is definitely a big part of our culture.

We make a lot with the little things we have.

And I think [speaking foreign language] is an example of that.

You get a little bit of everything you have, you make something super delicious and nutritious.

- [Buki] Whatever you guys need me to do, let me know.

- Just a little piece of each.

- A little piece of each.

- Yes.

- Okay, so like that much?

- [Yani] Yeah, that's enough.

[speaking foreign language] - You got it.

- Yes, I got you, I got you.

- Grandma approves.

- [singing] Ah.

- We're gonna get started on seasoning the meat.

A lot of garlic.

- [Buki] A lot of garlic, have mercy.

- [Melissa] We're putting some lemon in our meat.

- You want me to cut that?

- Yeah.

Now I'm gonna -- - Kitchen traffic.

- Kitchen traffic.

Now what's this little guy over here.

[speaking foreign language] - Malanga, [speaking foreign language].

- In Cuba we call it malanga.

- Oh yeah, it's a yam.

- There we go.

[upbeat music] - [Buki] Grandma, what do we think, good?

[speaking foreign language] - Listen, I'm passing Grandma's tests all over the place.

- So in Cuba, her professor for the kitchen and cooking classes.

- Oh wait, wait, wait a minute, wait, hold on, hold on.

Back up, back up, back.

Grandma was in cooking classes.

[speaking foreign language] - [Yani] Grandma has been a chef, like Cuba chef.

- Like a chef-chef.

- [Yani] Working in restaurants.

- Nobody told me that, Grandma is a pro, okay.

How much have you learned from Grandma?

- A lot, but I have to admit that I'm not the best in the kitchen, my sister is.

- I know how to cook, but again, not like grandma.

- Sure, I've tried to match my mom and my grandma's too and it's never gonna happen.

- When you ask her like measurements, you know, normally.

- No tablespoons, no cups.

- Exactly, She's like no, poquito.

- Just a little of this.

- A dash of that.

And then you'll help with all of it, and you're like, oh, I got this, I did all of this.

And then I'm like -- - Exactly.

Wait, how long, how long for that?

Oh, you know, just a little bit, just some time.

Four cooks, a full camera crew and burners on full blast and with the [speaking foreign language] simmering, Meli and I stepped out for some fresh air.

So what are we studying with this scholarship?

- Studying nutrition with the goal of becoming a dietician.

- And what is the backstory behind why you wanted to study that?

- So I was overweight as a younger person and the things I experienced in school and the constant pressure of looking skinny, of looking like this perfect person that was really like harsh to process as a young person.

- Was there even a realization of your weight in Cuba as compared to when you came here?

Or was it when you came here that that's when you really kind of realized what was going on?

- It was definitely here because over there in Cuba, my culture and a lot of cultures could probably relate, over there, there's nothing wrong if you're a little overweight, that's actually healthy.

You're like, oh, they're happy individual.

It's not really important how you look, or if you're a little bit overweight or whatever.

However, if you are skinny, they would consider you unhealthy.

- I was gonna say, I feel like there is a big cultural, especially with us who come from other places.

I mean, my grandma right now would be like, Buki, you are emaciated, here, eat some food.

My God, what's going on with you?

- My grandma is that way with me all the time.

They're like, I think you need to eat more.

You should be eating more.

Are you sure you're eating?

You look like you need some food.

- Exactly, and I feel like in all those cultures, especially, I mean, Afro-Cubans and everything, we have a very close bond that if you're a little thicker, that means you're healthy, you're doing well for yourselves.

You can actually afford the food, but then you come here and it's like complete opposite.

Did you experience bullying?

- [deep breath] Yes, I did have a lot of pressure to lose like weight and look a certain way.

And that's what motivated me to learn about food by myself and fitness.

I started researching in Google, but then after I transitioned to Instagram, which probably wasn't the best idea specifically back then, it was just you should just eat salads and do cardio 24-7.

- I think I tried that diet.

- As a young person, I'm like, okay, this is what I'm gonna do, this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

So that definitely made me become really skinny in an unhealthy way, but in my head, I was never skinny.

In my head, I still look the same way as when I started, if that makes sense.

- Oh, it absolutely makes sense.

In my early twenties I lost 90 pounds.

- Wow.

- Yes, I went from 240 to 150.

I remember being in the mirror and I know I lost all this weight.

I know it's gone, and you still see that same person in the mirror.

So when you look in that mirror and you still saw that fluffy, 10 year old, 11-12 year old girl, what would you say to her now?

- Ooh, good question.

I'll probably say I'm proud of how far you have come and -- - It's okay.

- [voice cracking] Um.

I'll tell her I'm proud of how far she has come and all the growth she has experienced and the transformation, not only on the outside, but the inside.

[Buki breathing deeply] [Meli chuckling] - It's tough.

Trust, I know exactly what you're feeling.

I know exactly what that is.

So when Meli becomes the badass nutritionist that I know you are going to be, what is your mission?

What's the goal?

[breathing deeply] - My mission would be to definitely educate our community.

I'm more interested in the community side of being a dietician, just educating our community on our foods, where they come from, the importance of eating nutrient-dense foods, of eating healthy, balanced, and being healthy individuals.

- Now, I've been dieting since 1998.

So [laughing] it's been a little bit.

From your standpoint, can we eat the bread?

- Can we eat the rice?

- Of course.

Anything in excess is bad, like anything.

If you eat too much salad, that's bad.

I would say personally, that does you more harm than good, because you're not eating something that makes you happy.

But if you're craving your bread, you can have your bread.

You can have your vegetables later.

- She said, I could have my bread, I could have my rice.

We can end this here, lets hit it.

- Let's go.

- After you.

- Thank you.

- You're welcome.

- There you go.

- [Buki] And look who just showed up.

Adam couldn't resist the sweet smell of [speaking foreign language] and joined us at the table.

Wow.

Wow.

- Then we have our beans.

- And the beans.

[speaking foreign language] Gracias, Grandma.

- Rice, the meat.

- Oh my goodness gracious.

Of course, Melli brings the salad.

[everyone laughing] - He wants to be bad.

- It's about balance.

- Of course, she's gonna bring the salad.

- [Adam] When are you gonna say this, before the food -- - Lastly, the Quimbombo.

- Quimbombo.

[speaking foreign language] Well before we get down to business, for you.

Gracias for this meal.

- Aw.

[family applauding] [speaking foreign language] - It's her birthday.

- [Buki] Today's your birthday too.

[speaking foreign language] - Aye.

[family applauding] [speaking foreign language] - It's like, wow, how delicious.

[speaking foreign language] - Okay.

[speaking foreign language] So listen, as Adam was saying, this is typical.

This is what we're having on a Thursday night.

- Wow.

- This is not "restaurantized" Cuban food.

This is if you go someone's house, like a normal person, and this is how they're gonna, my aunt in Cuba, this is exactly how she brings out the salad, the rice, the meat, and [speaking foreign language] the beans in these kind of settings.

It's literally just like this.

- [Yani] [chuckling] It's hot.

- What do I say, [speaking foreign language].

[speaking foreign language] Forget about it, [speaking foreign language].

This is amazing, wow.

- These girls here, her aunt, the whole family, they come from a long line of very strong women with backbone and with principles.

- When Meli turned 15, she wanted to get all the money she got in gifts to buy candy and bring it to Cuba to give to the kids.

- It's probably from I could never have candy or chocolates in Cuba.

So I'm like, you know what?

This would make me so happy as my 15th birthday gift.

- She never wanted to spend $6,000 on candy for children in Cuba.

- [Buki] I'm the son of immigrants, so I know leaving your home and starting over from nothing can be so isolating.

So to find this tight-knit Cuban community right here in New Jersey who truly care means everything and the food is so incredibly delicious.

You just gotta feel the music and a shoulder shimmy never hurt.

[singing in foreign language]