Article and photography by Fitz
Lead photo of Chef Eric Nelson at Chops in Virginia Beach
Chatting with Chef Eric Nelson about the state of food locally is as real as it gets. He has opinions. He is not shy about sharing them. It can be brutal. It’s always honest. However, the last time I meet with him at Jessy’s in Ghent in late 2016 to shoot the shit, there was bite missing in his words. The snark was absent in his banter. The bravado, fleeting. His eyes looked tired and they often stared off into the distance. He seemed too tired, too drained, to muster up the energy to shove anyone on his verbal chopping block.
Blue Tape, Nelson’s inspired pop up hadn’t taken off like he had hoped. In addition, his stint as executive chef at Steinhilber’s had gone south. Money was becoming an issue. Nelson had a lot to worry about. Sometimes a few months can really make a difference, though.
scallop | celeriac | apple-jasmine tea by Nelson
Nelson is now the new executive chef at Chops in Virginia Beach. With the creative freedom Nelson has been given there, specifically in terms of the chef’s menu, both his adventurous food and bravado are back. As Nelson explained to me when I recently caught back up with him at Coelacanth in Ghent, “I’m able to go into Chops and do my shit. If you get it, you get it. If you don’t, then fuck you.”
marrow bone | lobster | apple | frisée by Nelson
Blue Tape was an exciting adventure for serious eaters locally, but I think for the casual Hampton Roads diner, the more progressive flavor profiles Nelson presented like kimchi peaches or eccentrically smoked fish, sometimes elicited more shock than awe. At Chops, with both the more forward thinking chef’s menu and the classic restaurant menu, there will be a greater propensity for broader appeal.
Authenticity is at the heart of both what drives Nelson’s avant-garde approach to food and his cavalier critique of food locally. Supper Southern Morsels Executive Chef, Josh Gregory, summed it up best when he said of Nelson, “Eric’s food is important because he’s working to be truly authentic. Where other chefs capitalize on trends, he pushes himself to create a unique experience, instead of imitating or outright copying other chefs.”
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Whereas we all know creating something totally new is next to impossible, Gregory couldn’t be more right. Nelson does work vigorously not to repeat others, or himself. Therefore, when trying the new Chef’s Menu at Chops, don’t expect too many of the greatest hits of Blue Tape.
Nelson in the last few months has really delved into the vegetable side of things. As he explained to me that, “I would never have seen myself cooking without chicken stock in the past [as he now is for the chef’s menu at Chops] but I’ve really got into cooking with kombu. It just gives it that little extra.” Nelson first got introduced to cooking with kombu while stodging with John Shields, a Chicago Chef at Smyth in Loyalist who was doing a pop up in Chilhowie Virginia.
Nelson preparing gnocchi
Another feature new to the fare on the chef’s menu at Chop’s verses Blue Tape is Nelson’s use of teas. A true highlight of the menu is his sea scallop duo with celeriac in an apple cider and jasmine tea. The unfiltered apple cider is steeped with a jasmine tea from Heritage, the organic store off Laskin Rd in Virginia Beach. There are a lot of decent-to-good scallop duos one can find around Hampton Roads but this one really stands out from the pack due to the technique and thought that went into it. The sweet tasting tea makes the naturally sweet flavor of the scallop even more complex. The crunch of the celeriac (celery root) which is compressed with mirin, gives the dish a textural complexity as well, a necessary variable in better scallop dishes.
Nelson making the sea scallop duo
Along with authenticity, Nelson’s exploration and enthusiasm for different cooking techniques is essential to the originality present in his plates. As he put it with a bit of swagger sprinkled in: “Everyone is looking for that new recipe. Recipes are important but eventually everyone can find a recipe. What happens after you find it? Then it’s a technique thing. Someone may have the same recipe as I do, but they can’t make it like me.”
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Then there is the seared caramelized yogurt Nelson is playing with. Originally a mistake, Nelson had seen it as a sauce at a place in Cincinnati but he accidentally let his batch cook too long. Nelson is an adventurous eater, however, as he explained, “I’m not afraid to eat anything so we tried it and it was really good. It’s really killer with gnocchi.” Most simply described as tofu with actual taste, if it’s on the menu and you are about new flavors you’ve yet to experience, try it!
Nelson is brash, some may say pompous, but his unflinching desire to cook as much for his own palate as the publics makes for rather original food. His chef’s menu runs the gamut of delicious, challenging and unique in nature. It’s good to see him in a better place. Even if his new disposition makes him likelier to tell you how you could be doing better.
For more on Chops visit HERE
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