Zi7ZpiJVl2
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
FUNKY by Caitlin Ruth, €15, Blasta Books, is on sale now.