Chef Aaron Owen of The Birch in Terrace Park could have been a lawyer if life had gone a different way. As a bright, precocious fifteen-year-old, he was even offered a full ride to Harvard. His trajectory shifted, however, when he took a job in a kitchen to make his grandmother proud.
“I’d always have my nose on the table, watching her make food,” he recalls. “I remember she told me, ‘We need less lawyers in this world and more chefs, Aaron.’”
His Nonna inspired Chef Aaron to a career he clearly loves, his passion, skill and creativity leading him from his start on a farm in The Ozarks in Missouri, through some of the most celebrated kitchens in Nashville and Cincinnati and finally landing at The Birch in 2023 when he was handpicked by owners Aaron and Brett Tritsch.
“There’s nowhere to hide in this kitchen,” Chef Aaron says, with a nod to The Birch’s cozy kitchen. “There’s literally nowhere I can’t stand and see everything everyone is doing. I love it.”
Chef Aaron is known by name here. His cooking is delightfully informed by his childhood, knowing farm-to-table as a lifestyle before he learned it as a concept.
“I’ve always been a workaholic because I grew up on a farm,” he says.
At The Birch, he and his team work hard to craft approachable and affordable dishes that are as tasty as they are beautiful. And they have fun doing it.
“I have a tendency to dance and sing,” he shares. “One of my very first chefs taught me that every dish is a dance,” he explains. “You have a song for every dish. You play it in your head and you do the same dance moves every time and get really fast at it. We have a whole playlist for the kitchen. It’s very eclectic—everything from Metallica to Chappell Roan,” he laughs.
“We all take food so seriously, but we are here for long hours every day,” he says. “I really just like to have fun. It’s a very familial kitchen.”
Chef Aaron has a lot to be thankful for this season.
“I’m so thankful for Terrace Park and Indian Hill—this whole neighborhood and area has rejuvenated my passion for cooking,” he says. “I had it in my mind that you had to be downtown in the center of everything to have a successful chef career. I come out here and get nothing but love,” he says with a grin.
The Birch reopened in July after a fire shut them down last November. Chef Aaron is back in the kitchen, preparing the fresh, locally-sourced dishes for which the neighborhood eatery is known.
“I really appreciate everyone here, and I am especially thankful for our guests!” he says.
Find Chef Aaron dancing in the kitchen or picking up an iced tea at the bar. He’ll be there, eager to feed you and your family.
The Birch | 702 Indian Hill Road, Terrace Park | 513.831.5678 | TheBirchTP.com
https://thebirchtp.com/
Article by Tera Michelson
Photography by RF Graphic Designs
Originally published in Indian Hill City Lifestyle