Our monthly chef series highlights locals in the food industry.
Aspen Caples grew up in a military family and it would have been easy for her to go the Navy route.
But “cooking kind of spoke to me a little bit more.”
Caples, 31, is the executive chef at Firebrew Bar & Grill in Virginia Beach. She’s been there eight years after starting as a line cook. She now oversees kitchen operations and menu development.
Her dad served in the Navy and she was born at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. The youngest of three children, Caples spent her younger years in Europe and the Middle East. Her big sister was into cooking and baking and Caples followed her around and they watched the Food Network together. Her sister almost joined the Air Force and her brother did a few years in the Navy.
Caples enrolled in JROTC in high school but her love for the food industry was stronger. She graduated, returned to the States and earned an associate in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of Virginia. Caples worked at the defunct Fire and Vine in Virginia Beach as a line cook and prepared some desserts. Executive Chef Marc Taylor gave her creative freedom to do what she wanted in the scratch kitchen, a good training ground.
At Firebrew, she creates dishes sometimes inspired by events and Netflix’s “Chef’s Table.” For example, the restaurant’s spring wine dinner is on March 10 and she asks herself what’s in season and what’s green. The answer: A dessert course that looks like green grass and she calls it “Tea in the Springtime.” The dish is an Earl Grey-infused sponge cake with strawberry cream topped with edible moss. The wine dinners are her favorite.
Caples hopes to own a restaurant someday, an upscale but casual bistro.
The interview has been edited for brevity.
Did you consider being a chef in the military? I did consider it since it’d be a combination of both worlds. I realized that I did not want to cook in a galley or mess hall. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, just not where I saw myself. It’d be my pleasure to cook for anyone in the service.
How would you describe your food? Adaptable. I’m not one of those chefs that has a favorite dish. I just enjoy cooking things that I think people will enjoy.
Who was/is your mentor? Taylor was but he passed away a couple of years ago. Ralph Clayton Anderson, owner of Clayton’s Counter in Virginia Beach, is also like a mentor. He’s a great guy with a plethora of knowledge. He answers any questions and tries to get the best out of you.
What’s your go-to meal when cooking at home? I’ll bake some salmon, vegetables and rice.
What are three things you always keep in your refrigerator? It’s hard to say because I’m not home that much. I have some unsalted butter. I keep protein such as chorizo, bacon and salmon as a backup. I love fruit; I could eat it all day. I have navel oranges and cherries.
Must-have dishes at Firebrew? The baby back ribs are cooked slowly overnight in a fire deck oven. Customers enjoy the sweet chili salmon. And I’d be a little biased and say the rib-eye since I’m a steak and potatoes kind of girl.
What’s next for you and the restaurant? I’m definitely going to be parked at Firebrew for a while. We’re gearing up for our wine dinner; we do them quarterly.
Rekaya Gibson, 757-295-8809, rekaya.gibson@virginiamedia.com, on X, @gibsonrekaya
