ELEVEN SIX WOMEN | ODETTE WILLIAMS
Photography by Maria Karas | @mariakaras
Meet Odette Williams, an Australian baker, writer, and author of two New York Times best-selling cookbooks: Simple Cake and Simple Pasta. Odette moved to New York in 2006 for love, then married and had two children. She often baked with her young kids, which inspired her to create an Apron-set line when she found there was a void in the market before fully launching her food career. Her eponymous apron brand has been sold in prestigious stores like Goop and Le Bon Marché. Outside of her incredible books Odette has also contributed to many major national magazines, writes the Wall Street Journal column "Party Trick," and has appeared on the Food Network.
We are thrilled to share Odette’s Story on the day she launches her new SubStack newsletter, DEVOUR, where she will offer simple recipes along with lifestyle and entertainment tips. As Odette states: "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" which completely sums up Odette’s DNA.
We had the pleasure of visiting Odette in her beautiful, Brooklyn family home and captured her wearing her favorite pieces from our spring collection. Read on to discover how Odette's journey has evolved through pivotal moments in her life in to such a beautiful lifestyle expression that we loved being immersed in...
Odette wears the Ruby Cardi with her own dress
Can you share your background and how your career-path led you into the food space in New York to become a cookbook author, food writer, and recipe developer?
Many moons ago I was an actress. I studied acting at college. I loved the work and world of the theatre but it’s a really tough existence. I moved to New York just as I turned 30. I met my now husband, Nick in a bookstore in Sydney and he convinced me to move to NY to be with him. You’d think I’d continue acting when I moved to NYC but it’s when I stopped. I couldn’t do another margarine commercial :) I had my kids, was a little lost at sea in those early days with small children, in a new city, with no idea what I would do next. But funnily enough during this time, I was cooking a lot. It was my way of making New York home, feeding people and having them over was how I made friends and built my community. I come from a large extended family in Australia so I was recreating what I was missing. It took time. Both my mum and aunts are great cooks so I learned a lot from them. I used to obsess over food magazines and cookbooks so it’s funny that life put me on a culinary path. I never intentionally set out to become a food writer, but it makes so much sense in retrospect. I’ve always loved eating. I love going to restaurants. I’m obsessed with books. (My husband Nick and I have way too many.) I wake up and think about dinner before breakfast.
Odette wears the Colette Dress in Ivory
We love that you created your own Apron-set line! What was the catalyst for this, how did you create, and where has it led you?
First came the aprons. The kids were always in the kitchen with me when they were little, and one time a friend visited from Australia and brought this cheesy apron set that my daughter Opal loved. She would play in it all the time. It was around this time I was going to a kids birthday party every other weekend, and I thought, if the apron set had a better design, it would make a great gift. So I made a prototype, pounded the pavement in the Manhattan garment district, figured out how to get them manufactured, and started wholesaling them to J.Crew, Anthropologie, Le Bon Marche, etc…
We were very touched to learn that Simple Cake was inspired by your late Father and the cakes you made together. Can you share about the roots and essence of this book?
From the kids apron sets came the book. Well actually, it was really my fathers unexpected death. For years I had an idea for a cake cookbook rattling around, and when I went home for my father’s funeral, we were looking through old photos, and I saw one of us together, in the backyard, and he had baked me a cake from this iconic Australian cake book. I wished I could have thanked him for the cake. It’s in this moment I knew I had to write Simple Cake. Everything came together. You know when you have to tell a story, and you don’t care what the outcome is? It was one of those moments. Growing up in Australia the cakes were more British. They were simple. Cakes that came together with a bowl and wooden spoon. They weren’t fussy, could stand chaos, and always offered comfort. It was a fresh perspective at the time because America was exiting the cupcake phenomenon where the buttercream ratio to crumb was way out of proportion. What helped sell the book to the publisher was my network that I had built through the kids apron set business.
Odette wears the Isla Cardi in Sand with her own dress
Find Odette's Olive Oil Cake Recipe HERE
Having a half-Italian husband, I am obsessed with Italian cuisine! Your second book Simple Pasta speaks to my love of simple, fresh ingredients and the act of enjoying a meal with family and friends that is done so well in Italy! How was this book born and what do you hope people enjoy about it?
Then came pasta. I knew I wanted to do a savory book next. But I wanted to still make everything simple. I always want to give you the best, simplest version of a recipe. It was my editor who saw me making a lot of homemade pasta on Instagram, and she was the one who suggested pasta. It’s so funny, because the idea was right in front of me, and once again, made perfect sense as pasta and Italian food have always been my love language. The book offers store-bought pastas, as well as homemade pasta. It’s a gateway book to say a pasta bible. I tried to make it as simple and accessible as possible. Then I also included menu plans for each season so you can put a cocktail, appetizer, and dessert with whatever pasta you choose. Curating a menu for you so all you have to do is invite your friends over. Maybe spend a Saturday cooking together and catching up.
Your Wall Street Journal column, Party Trick, shares simple recipes and accessible tricks for hosting. Can you share how this column came about and the reasons why you believe it’s such a success?
I worked on Simple Pasta during the pandemic when no one was socializing. I was really missing partying, and having fun. I think this feeling of longing and escapism was captured in the photography Simple Pasta. I had been writing occasionally for the Wall Street Journal, and when my editor saw the galley, she suggested we start the column Party Trick. I loved the idea and was all in. I was desperate to party, and I LOVE hosting and attending parties, so once again, it just made a lot of sense. When I was a kid my mum says I used to cry when she would come and pick me up from the party because I never wanted it to end. Not much has changed. I think the column has resonated with others because I was not alone feeling the lack of connection. Seeing a simple, yummy recipe idea can be the catalyst to put something on the calendar with friends.
We are so very excited about the launch of your new Substack newsletter: DEVOUR launching May 1st, 2025! Please share about the concept of this letter and what content you want to bring to your audience through the lens of Odette Williams?
Thank you! I’m so excited about DEVOUR. I’ve wanted to cover more than just food. My Substack will publish simple recipe for the weekend, but also cover entertaining, home, lifestyle ideas. Women often ask me, where I got my jewelry, dress, sofa, plates, caftan from… when they see me in the photoshoots for WSJ. So now I get to share all my intel! I’m looking forward to having a direct, honest, intimate chatter going with my subscribers. Come and join me! I’d love to know more about you.
What are 3 things that make for a perfect party?
A cocktail
Good friends
Yummy food
Odette wears the Mia Rib Tank in black back to her own jean
You have a weekend house Upstate NY. What brought you upstate and how has that shaped you and your family’s lifestyle?
We have been coming upstate for over decade, staying at our friends house. I’m always poking around on real estate websites so when our place came up, I knew it was a beauty and wouldn’t last long. It’s a second empire, three story home that has this gorgeous view over a field onto the Catskill mountains. I can’t wait to share more of it on DEVOUR. I’m slowly doing it up and making it ours. It’s been such a playground for having friends sleepover, hosting dinner parties, and having fun.
Can you share a recipe that you have most loved cooking with your children?
Custard. A simple custard. Truth be told, I’m usually the one who cooks it but they both know the shape of the recipe. When we need a sweet treat, I’ll often whip some up after dinner. We all love it. I’m crazy about anything custard, hot or cold and in any form.
What is a series/movie/book you just read or watched that you loved?
I just binged The Pitt. So happy to see Noah Wyle have a comeback. He holds the show together beautifully.
Where are you dreaming of flying to next?
I’m off to Amsterdam and Copenhagen next. Any recs? Tag me on IG @odettewilliams
Do you have a daily mantra?
Ha! Love this! I don’t but I should. Two things I’ve been saying lately are, swing bigger, and winner. I’ve always been into sports psychology, so a simple word like winner, just lands. Let’s see if it actually works :)
What are your favorite pieces from the ELEVEN SIX Spring collection and what does the brand mean to you?
I just love the super soft Mia tanks. The shape is perfect. It’s really hard to find classic basics like this that fit really well and feel great when you are not twenty anymore. Obsessed. You can wear with white pants, jeans, skirts, blazers, splash of jewelry. The Isla Cardi in Sand will be my go-to beach, cool summer night essential over a dress or caftan. I’m a sucker for neutrals. The Colette Dress in cream is so soft. I’ll wear that as a cover up over swimmers, or with a scrappy leather saddle for everyday. I’ve also never met a sequins I don’t like. Ivory Cora Sequins Tank will be great at parties.
