Odd Duck’s Acclaimed Chef Bryce Gilmore Is Publishing a Texas Cookbook

Acclaimed Austin chef and multiple James Beard Award finalist Bryce Gilmore is publishing a Texas cookbook that draws from his restaurants — Odd Duck, Barley Swine, and Sour Duck Market — as well as the Central Texas foodways, as reported by Texas Monthly. Never one to be conventional, the book will publish annually like, well, an almanac. The first edition of The Odd Duck Almanac will be published next month, on Monday, December 9, via independent Austin publisher Cattywampus Press.

Odd Duck Almanac is described as “part-farmers almanac, community zine, and cookbook,” according to a release. It will feature recipes (divvied up into seasons) and stories about the restaurants, its staff, and the people/farms/companies that grow, create, and sell food in the state, as well as chronicle changes to the actual restaurants.

Each annual issue will feature a different theme with new recipes and content. “Mother” is the first theme. It’ll delve into yeast, fermentation, and Odd Duck’s very-Texas mother sauces, like hot sauce. There are recipes for the famous fried fish head, antelope tataki; a zodiac sign-to-sauce chart; a feature on the Zilker Elementary’s Jabo’s Garden; photos from Tecolote Farms; and cocktail recipes. Scope out the preview of the cookbook below.

So, in order to buy Odd Duck Almanac, there are three annual subscription levels:

• $30/year includes this edition and future editions of the book and the seasonal newsletter
• $50/year includes all of the above, and a twice-a-year shipment of mystery goods from the team (books, apparel, etc.)
• Finally, $100/year features all of the above, as well as VIP reservation access to special tables at all restaurants, early ticket access to events, and a ten-percent discount on $100/visit at Odd Duck

Odd Duck Almanac is edited by local food writer and Eater Austin contributor Veronica Meewes, with photographs by the restaurant group’s go-to photographer Richard Casteel and go-to illustrator Brock Caron. Gilmore did tell Texas Monthly that there’s a plan to publish a “traditional” cookbook later too.

Gilmore opened Odd Duck back in 2009 as a food truck, and then turned it into a proper restaurant in 2013. He and the team followed with finer dining restaurant Barley Swine on South Lamar in 2010, which moved to Burnet Road in 2016. Then they opened the casual Sour Duck Market in Central East Austin in 2018.

Illustrations by Brock Caron/Courtesy of Cattywampus Press

Illustrations by Brock Caron/Courtesy of Cattywampus Press

Photography by Richard Casteel/Illustrations by Brock Caron/Courtesy of Cattywampus Press

Photography by Richard Casteel/Illustrations by Brock Caron/Courtesy of Cattywampus Press

Photography by Richard Casteel/Illustrations by Brock Caron/Courtesy of Cattywampus Press

Photography by Richard Casteel/Illustrations by Brock Caron/Courtesy of Cattywampus Press

• The Odd Duck Almanac [Official]
• Chef Bryce Gilmore Finally Shares His Recipes in ‘The Odd Duck Almanac’ [Texas Monthly]
• All Coverage of Odd Duck [EATX]
• All Coverage of Bryce Gilmore [EATX]