Keeping it Simple: Odette Williams
With a passion for pasta, cake and entertaining, Odette Williams peddles simplicity, storytelling and living the best life we possibly can with the people we love.
Words: Cardia Speziale | Photography: Graydon Herriott & Nicole Franzen
Marinated Peppers, Gruyere & Hazelnut Dip. Photo: Graydon Herriott
‘Pasta is primal. It’s flour, water and joy,’ says Odette Williams Photo: Graydon Herriott
Born and raised in a coastal steel town two hours north of Sydney, Brooklyn-based food writer and apron designer Odette Williams has a longstanding love affair with pasta and cake. Her storytelling approach to cooking aims to foster connection, discovery and joy.
In 2006, Odette packed up her life on Bondi Beach to move to New York for love, after meeting her now husband Nick, in a Sydney bookstore. Following the creation of her eponymous line of aprons, she has since released two cookbooks — Simple Cake (named one of the Best Cookbooks of 2019 by the New York Times) and Simple Pasta — and recently debuted her Wall Street Journal Column, Party Trick, that provides tips, hacks and recipes for effortless entertaining.
Upon opening Simple Cake, the reader is welcomed with a poem titled ‘Cake Loves…’ that begins with ‘a house full of comings and goings’ and ends with “vulnerability”. This evocative sense of warmth and nostalgia sets the tone for all of Odette’s work and is at the heart of her approach to food; an approach inspired by childhood memories of adventurous home cooks, local family restaurants, and backyard birthday parties where the Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book was the last word on dessert.
Reflecting on where it all began, Odette speaks about the sudden passing of her father as the turning point in her career. ‘It was after my father died that things really came to fruition’ she says. ‘His death was why I wrote Simple Cake. He had baked me the Bunny Cake from the Women’s Weekly book, and when selecting photos for his funeral, I found a photo of us in the backyard with the cake and realised I never got to thank him for it. Even though cake is usually associated with celebration, I was processing grief via it.’
‘I learned a lot about cooking because I would be craving something. I’d come home from school and there was no sweet snack food, but there were the pantry essentials, so I’d just make myself a cake, slice or toffee.’ Photo: Graydon Herriott
‘What I love about [working with food] is, there’s always something new to learn, or discover. It’s a life pursuit.’ Photo: Graydon Herriott
“I always want my work to be authentic so that I make a connection – I love to create a world or an atmosphere for each book.”
Self-care cake from Simple Cake. Photo: Nicole Franzen
‘Each book is like a child in that it takes a pound of flesh, but is so, so rewarding.’ Photo: Graydon Herriott
While Simple Cake was originally intended to be for kids, the outcome is a recipe book open to all ages, which offers space for theatrics and forgiveness for impatience. Similarly, in Odette’s second book — Simple Pasta, which was written during the height of the pandemic — she allows some room for error and promises the reader that they will make homemade pasta, and they will love it.
‘The hardest part of cookbooks is that they are like running marathons,’ reflects Odette. ‘They require stamina, obsession, and many late nights spent editing or tweaking recipes. Each book is like a child in that it takes a pound of flesh, but is so, so rewarding,’ she adds.
When Odette’s editor at Wall Street Journal Off Duty saw the manuscript for Simple Pasta, she suggested they start a column called Party Trick, ‘because lord knows, we were all desperate to have a good time.’ The column taps into Odette’s superpowers of being able to host without breaking a sweat, and her love of parties — big or small.
Not one to sit still for too long, Odette is currently developing a cooking show with the Executive Producer of the Netflix special Salt Fat Acid Heat, while concurrently undergoing an Interior Design course. She is also hoping to shoot a book in Sydney that celebrates Australian food, and one day create the ultimate guide for parties and entertaining. ‘Whatever the project, I’ll be peddling simplicity, good storytelling, keeping it classic and living the best life we possibly can with the people we love.’.
You can learn more about Odette’s work and purchase copies of her books here.
‘The women in my life were great, adventurous cooks. There was a time when my mum was making soufflés and crumbing lambs brains, and serving them in white sauce on a weeknight.’ Photo: Nicole Franzen
Gianduja Crème Brûlée from Simple Pasta – recipe shared below. Photo: Graydon Herriott
Gianduja Crème Brûlée
I’m completely smitten by the flavor combination of hazelnut and chocolate. When I first went to Italy, I had a scoop of gianduja gelato every day.
This crème brûlée should be the thing that finally convinces you to get a blowtorch if you don’t already own one. I promise that you won’t have buyer’s remorse.
I make the gianduja custards the day before or the morning of serving, so I have a banked dessert. I caramelize the sugar just before serving. I use Nocciolata spread because it really comes out swinging in the hazelnut department, but Nutella works too.
Makes 8 servings
INGREDIENTS
3 cups heavy cream
2 large eggs, plus 4 egg yolks
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar, plus 16 teaspoons
1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄2 cup Italian hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nocciolata)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place eight 31⁄2-inch ramekins on a large baking dish. Set a kettle of water to boil.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the cream until it’s just steaming.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, 1⁄2 cup sugar, and salt until the mixture is pale, just a coupleof minutes.
Gradually pour the warm cream into the egg-sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Then, whisk in the hazelnut-chocolate spreadand vanilla.
Pour the mixture into the ramekins, about three-fourths full.
Place the baking dish in the oven, then carefully pour boiling water into the pan, until it comes halfway up the sides of theramekins. Bake until the edges of the custards have set but the centers remain jiggly, about 35 minutes. Remove the custards from the water bath. Let cool, then cover the custards with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, or up to 2 days.
Evenly sprinkle 2 teaspoons sugar over the top of each custard and use a blowtorch to caramelize the sugar. Let them sit for aminute or so, until the sugar hardens before serving.