For years, Departure chef and Top Chef star Gregory Gourdet has fielded the same question: When are you writing a cookbook? After all, Gourdet is personal, super-smart, and as striking as a model. He’s also hot-wired into everything essential in American eating today: veganism, chef collaborations, personal food-roots journeys, fermentation obsessions, community voice, pan-Asian cooking experiments. He’s not only in on the conversation—he’s ahead of the curve. 

Now we have an answer. As Eat Beat has learned, health-obsessed Gourdet recently inked a hefty deal with Harper Wave Books to pen Everyone’s Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health, with a spring 2021 pub date in the works. The book will include roughly 150 paleo recipes (no gluten, diary, legumes, or grains) along with a road map and pantry for eating well and deliciously, Gourdet-style. Esteemed New York food writer JJ Goode, whose bio reads, “I help great chefs write cookbooks,” has signed on to the project. Goode, who worked on books with Andy Ricker (Pok Pok) and Tyler Malek (Salt & Straw), has developed a strong Portland network. 

Gourdet calls this a personal project that takes in all of his life influences: Departure’s Asia-meets-Oregon pantry, dishes from his family’s Haitian table, European-inspired plates from his days in New York’s restaurant scene, and travels to Japan and Thailand. In short, a gamut that runs from kimchi-roasted brussels sprouts to salmon and peach curry to plantain bread with spicy cashew butter. 

Don’t expect a cheffy tome. Recipes like Haitian-style grilled whole fish and spiced date upside-down cake, according to Gourdet, are geared toward avid home cooks. “I want to help people eat better and not sacrifice flavor or fun,” says Gourdet. “I want to show that healthier eating can be bold and exciting for everyone at the table.”