Here, we catch up with Caitlin Ruth to chat about everything from her earliest memories of food to her favourite flavours and culinary inspirations.
Caitlin Ruth has been working in restaurant kitchens since she was 12 years old. Formerly head chef of Deasy’s Restaurant near Clonakilty, West Cork, she hails from New Hampshire in the US and has called Ireland her home since 1992. Her hugely popular food truck, Caitlin Ruth Food, serves a menu driven by seasonal ingredients from West Cork’s local growers and producers.
The author of Blasta Books’ FUNKY, Caitlin puts the fun into funky to pack your plate with flavour.
Here, Caitlin shares her life in food…
What are your earliest memories of food?
When I was a very young child, my parents and I used to live near a little mountain in New Hampshire that we called ‘Blueberry Hill’. We’d wander up it during the short blueberry season, and spend hours picking bushels of tiny, flavour-packed wild lowbush blueberries, which have a different, more intense taste than the big cultivated highbush varieties. We’d freeze them and make blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins, blueberry oatmeal, but the greatest joy for me was being able to eat the berries while I picked.
What’s your go-to breakfast?
I drink two black coffees for breakfast every morning, without fail — no food. I do love cooking breakfast, though, so if I’m making breakfast for someone else, eggs Florentine with chard instead of spinach… and runny yolks all the way.
If you’re impressing friends and family at a dinner party, what are you serving up?
For years and years, I worked most nights and longed to have the regular sit down dinners that other people had, so these days, when I get a chance to cook dinner, I just love feeding people, not impressing them. Or… I’ll impress them by making something from their pantry that they previously thought was bare. It’s my one true talent, making something from nothing.
Who is your culinary inspiration?
When I first arrived in Ireland in 1992, pregnant and stuck with no car in a thatched cottage in the windy wilds of Connemara, and utterly unfamiliar with anything Irish… BAM! Here comes Darina Allen and her cookery show, Simply Delicious, on the only channel we had on our rented telly. It’s hard to describe how much she cheered me up, with her passion for good ingredients and her clear, but slightly strict, instructions. I made so much soda bread that summer and I’ve been a massive fan of Darina’s ever since.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
When I try to think of the most comforting food I’ve ever had, it’d have to be the dodgy white toast and lukewarm tea that they brought me in the hospital after I had my daughter. If I need comfort these days, it’s cured meats and pickles.
What’s the go-to quick meal you cook when you’re tired and hungry?
I love eggs mixed with greens, like scrambled eggs with cooked broccoli, or eggs baked in a pie dish with sautéed courgette, kale and onion. Hot sauce on top of course, for flavour and endorphins. And of course, I put pickles on everything — my fridge is always full of multicoloured jars of preserves, mostly made from my cookbook, FUNKY.
What is one food or flavour you cannot stand?
Weirdly, I recoil from goat’s cheese. My favourite cheese is sheep’s, and I love goat meat, but the only goat cheese I can bear is the fresh, firm cheese of the Canary Islands, pan fried and served with palm honey.
Sweet or savoury?
Savoury. I’d give up sugar in the morning.
Fine dining or pub grub?
I’m not going to say that I don’t like fine dining, but for me, these days, it has to be casual dining. I like to be fed, have the craic, a couple drinks and go home.
Favourite restaurant in Ireland?
That’s a tricky question! And of course, I can’t pick an absolute favourite because there are so many wonderful places that tick so many different boxes, but the place I go to most frequently is Monk’s Lane in Timoleague, West Cork. It’s the quintessential neighbourhood restaurant and has the perfect combo of warm welcome, great food, superb drinks list, hustle and bustle. It’s also a place where everyone can feel comfortable, whether you’re still in your work clothes, or dressed up to the nines.
Best coffee in Ireland?
I remain a fan of a darker, bitter roast, and personally can’t get behind the acidic, citrus notes of lighter roasted beans. The best coffee for me would be from a stovetop espresso maker, on a camping cooker, next to the sea in West Cork.
What does food mean to you?
For better or for worse, food is my life. I fall asleep thinking about food, dream about food, and wake up thinking about food. I wake up in the middle of the night and jot down food and menu ideas in my notes — even for things I may never cook. I have lists of different categories in my diaries: flavours for chocolate, flavours for cocktails, try putting this with that, putting that with this. I wreck people’s heads asking them about food.
Food for thought — Is there room for improvement within the Irish food/restaurant/hospitality scene?
Restaurants need to be given a governmental hand, in the lowering of the VAT rates back to 9%, which would make a huge difference to small business owners who are struggling. I’m not sure who has perpetuated the myth that restaurant proprietors are fat cats who are raking in money hand over fist, but I’ve heard murmurs in this direction and I can assure you that nothing can be further from the truth. Running a food business is generally a constant struggle to make ends meet, with tighter margins than you can believe. But sure, I know it’s hard to imagine if you haven’t experienced it.
Secret ingredient — What, in your estimation, makes the perfect dining experience?
Delicious food, casual atmosphere, great lighting, a welcoming host, and fun dining companions.
FUNKY by Caitlin Ruth, €15, Blasta Books, is on sale now.
Also Read
