Chef Bios: Bryce Gilmore

Bryce Gilmore has food in his blood—his father Jack was a chef for 20 years and now owns his own place at Jack Allen's Kitchen. Born in Austin, a veritable hotbed of Southwestern cooking, Gilmore attended the California Culinary Academy before traveling and cooking across Europe.

Gilmore earned his chops in restaurants like Wink, Boulevard, and Montagna, before earning a place as sous-chef at Café 909 (now closed) in Marble Falls. Yet this Texan longed for a freer lifestyle; in 2009 Gilmore dropped everything, moved back to Austin, and spent several months re-gutting an old trailer he bought on eBay. Gilmore named his food truck the Odd Duck Farm to Trailer, serving a daily rotating menu of small bites that include tomato salad with melon, ricotta, and Texas olive oil, or quail with cheddar smashed potato, banana , and garlic chives.

In 2010, the Odd Duck was featured in a segment of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. The extra publicity allowed Gilmore to open a side project—a pork-centric gastropub called Barley Swine. Gilmore is featured as one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs of 2011.

QUICKFACTS:
Culinary Style: Nouveau Southwestern
Restaurants: Odd Duck, Barley Swine
Born: 1982

DID YOU KNOW?
Gilmore named his food truck after the trailer model: the Fleetwood Mallard that he drove from Wisconsin to Texas.