WORDS & PHOTOS BY CHRIS TIESSEN
‘Well, this certainly is a new experience,’ I exclaim to Wes Klassen, Odd Duck Wine & Provisions co-owner, while he guides my TOQUE partner, Cai, and me through what’s essentially the restaurant’s kitchen, on our way to the adjoining dining room. To my right, smartly plated entrées wait on the pass. Further along, cartons of fresh yellow and green beans and ripe peaches sit neatly on a shelf. Just beyond the prep counter, Chef (and co-owner) Jon Rennie puts the finishing touches on the prettiest butter poached lobster dish. To Jon’s left, a member of his team preps an app while behind him another deftly handles a hot saucepan as dancing flames – fueled by a touch of alcohol in the pan – lick the air.
‘What a fantastic presentation,’ I remark as a server swishes past to collect entrées off the pass and deliver them to the dining room. ‘Whoever decided to stage the kitchen front and centre,’ I add, ‘instead of hiding it in the back like most restaurants do, is genius.’ So patrons can see where their food is coming from, and who’s making it, before sitting down to eat. And for a touch of theatre too. ‘That was our idea when we built out the space,’ Wes replies as he leads Cai and me into the restaurant’s chill dining room, where we settle into a lovely four-seater (built from wood harvested at Jon’s father-in-law’s rural property in St Agatha) positioned under a large window fronting the street. ‘We like to do things differently here,’ Wes goes on, with a smile. So I’ve heard. In fact, it’s this story of ‘doing things differently’ that has brought Cai and me to this downtown Kitchener start-up – to see for ourselves what it is that has people talking.
For regional food aficionados, the Odd Duck origin story is a tale they’ve heard already. Industry vets and best friends Wes (a seasoned sommelier) and Jon (an experienced chef), ground down by what they observed to be engrained problems in hospitality, decided (with third co-owner Rob Corrigan) to start their own joint that would speak to their core values. This new restaurant would dispense with tipping and pay a living wage, for instance, and do away with hierarchies in the kitchen and front of house. It would be a safe space for everyone. And it would focus on meat and produce from regional farms.
And while this trio aren’t the only ones around these parts to prioritize values like these (The Neighbourhood Group of Restaurants has done much trailblazing work on similar fronts), Odd Duck might in fact be the only regional restaurant that was explicitly founded on them. A stirring raison d’etre, to be sure – but only sustainable if it’s delivered alongside an exceptional culinary experience. Let’s get to that now.
‘We call this cocktail ‘On The Sauce’,’ Odd Duck bartender Emma tells Cai and me when she delivers two drinks to our table just minutes after we’ve arrived. Crafted with peach- infused vodka, Revel’s ‘Time & Place’ cider, charred peaches (undoubtedly plucked from the baskets I spotted in the kitchen), lemon, and Szechuan pepper syrup, the concoction hits just right on this late-summer evening. While we get into these cocktails, the ever- affable Wes pops by our table to chat about Odd Duck’s unique culinary program. ‘Most restaurants develop menus that are designed around food and change every few months,’ he tells us, ‘but here menu development is driven by our wines first and also by the regional harvest.’ (A harvest that keeps giving year- round thanks to the kitchen’s propensity for canning and preserving – inspired by Chef Jon’s and Wes’ Mennonite ties.)
The restaurant pairs food to wine, then, and not wine to food. Very interesting – and fitting, considering that Wes has for years now enjoyed a reputation across the region as a fantastic sommelier and wine consultant. ‘Essentially,’ he continues, ‘the kitchen is always responding to the wines I bring in and the meat and produce that local farmers provide.’ Wines from agencies that align with Odd Duck values. And regional producers who share their values as well – Alexandra’s Farm (Ayr), Fertile Ground (near Milverton), Lucky Bug Farm (Baden), Linton Pasture Pork (Walton), and more.
The result? A menu that’s ever-changing – to the point where Odd Duck’s website doesn’t list a current menu but instead posts photos of dishes the restaurant has already featured. ‘For us,’ Wes tells us, ‘menu development is a democratic affair, so we encourage each member of the team to suggest dishes they think might be a good fit for our bill of fare.’ Case in point: the first dish delivered to our table, succinctly named ‘Cucumber’, which was initially developed for this week’s menu by Odd Duck Sous Chef Zac Berry. Inspired by ‘The Curator’, by A.A. Badenhorst, a South African white blessed with notes of pear, peach, and apricot, Zac’s dish marries field and heirloom cucumber and charred corn with dill, thai and purple basil, and calendula – offering a taste that’s fresh and clean and a perfect companion to the wine. ‘Like harvest in my mouth,’ I laugh to Cai as I take a second bite.
Alongside this dish, Cai and I are served the aptly named ‘Tomato’, a collaboration between Chef Jon and another member of the Odd Duck kitchen crew that features hearty farm tomatoes, burratini, black garlic, basil, sea beans, and pickled scapes. I’ve never met a burratini I didn’t fall in love with (and this one certainly doesn’t disappoint), but the lingering charm of this dish is its visual execution. ‘I was hoping for dishes like this,’ I tell Cai while I raise my Nikon and fire off a few frames – imagining just how good the food will look in print.
Just as I am cleaning off the last bits of burratini – my mind lost in sweet reverie – I am abruptly brought back to the present by the distinct sound of a ringing bell. I look up and see Wes coming through the dining room pushing what we soon find out is his ‘punk rawk’ cheese cart. Covered in lights and stickers – and announced with the resonant bell – Wes’ cart is emblematic of his fun-loving nature and of Wes and Jon and Rob’s belief that while the food at Odd Duck might be elevated, the atmosphere should be all about merriment and conviviality. While each table can have the cart brought out at any point in the meal, for Cai and me Wes decides to unleash the cheery spectacle between our ‘starters’ and our ‘main events’. (I use quotations here because Odd Duck’s printed menus omit food categorization of any sort – a decision undoubtedly rooted in Odd Duck’s value of democratization of every sort.)
And what does the cart have to offer? Lovely shaved slices of ‘Wildwood’ (an Appenzellar-style cheese made by Stonetown Cheese in St Mary’s, Ontario, with a zesty flavour and rustic, aromatic rind); larger slices of ‘Oveja Romera’ (a sheep’s milk cheese from La Mancha, Spain, that features a delicate rind rolled in fresh rosemary); and herbed rye crisps and a jam spread made from Ontario blueberries, white pepper, and ginger – both made in-house. And as if this isn’t enough, Wes also serves us glasses of ‘Eléctrico Bombilla’ by Bodegas Toro Albalà – a classic Andalusian sherry. ‘I chose this dry wine to pair with these cheeses,’ Wes notes, ‘because its lovely oily and rounded mouthfeel echoes the nutty, herbal, salty and oily notes present in the cheeses.’ We are persuaded.
The rest of our meal continues to excite and enthrall. After the cheeses and sherry, Cai and I are served glasses of Kristinus ‘Róka Rosé’ – a full-bodied, unfiltered sliver of heaven from the Balaton Region in Hungary. Its food pairing: ‘Beans’, a wonderful dish of yellow and green beans (incorporating more of the fresh produce I spotted on my way in), toasted pistachio, partridge berry, fennel salad, and caramelized shallot purée. Wes also delivers glasses of Niagara-based Maenad Wines’ unfiltered ‘Muscat’, which is paired with ‘Sockeye’ – wild caught, lightly cured and cooked, with red and white currants, and chili.
By the time Cai and I have finished our outstanding ‘mains’ and scarfed down a fantastic gluten-free earl grey cake Chef Jon serves us for dessert, it’s pretty clear to me that the Odd Duck experience is an exceptional one. And while it might be true that Wes and Jon (and Rob) and their team really do things differently, the restaurant’s strengths – for patrons, at least – are grounded in what makes all great foodie destinations resounding successes: fantastic service, wonderful food and drink, and a commitment to customers having a great time. On our way out, after we’ve passed the kitchen once more, Cai and I pause in the place’s bottle shop next to the main door. As we scan the shelves, I note cans from Counterpoint Brewing (Kitchener), Shortfinger (Kitchener), Third Moon (Milton), Dominion City (Ottawa), and more. I ask Wes, who’s walked us to the front, why they carry beer from these specific breweries. ‘They align with our values,’ he states matter-of-factly. I should have known.
Maybe Odd Duck really does do things differently, I think to myself. And maybe that’s not at all a bad thing.
ODD DUCK WINE & PROVISIONS
93 ONTARIO ST S, KITCHENER ON
oddduckwp.com