MERRY CHRISTMAS, RUTH PRETTY AND HER COOKING TEAM IN NEW ZEALAND! RUTH PRETTY (YES, SHE IS PRETTY AND PRETTY IS HER HUSBAND'S SURNAME!) IS NEW ZEALAND'S BEST CHEF AND COOKBOOK AUTHOR!

KEE@FSWMAG.COM

                                                           

On Monday morning my first port of call was our Kitchen Shop. I was relieved but really surprised that nothing was broken in the earthquake. Bone china mugs stacked on top of each other, handmade Turkish glass plates on a top shelf and Tony Sly pottery all remained intact. Monday‘s catering events in Wellington were cancelled for obvious reasons – perfectly understandable but I can’t help feeling sorry for the staff who departed for Wellington at 5.45am, did the event set up  and then we had to tell them to turn around and come back to base! Anyway they returned with full reports of a desolate city. They said it looked like Wellington on Christmas day.   Events like this recent earthquake makes one reminisce. Ruth Pretty Catering has grown and developed in often unexpected ways over more than 25 years.   As the daughter of a retailer I never expected to be one myself, but the Ruth Pretty Kitchen Shop just seemed to evolve, and now has a life of its own. I love finding new products that appeal to me and our customers. One customer last week while doing all of her Christmas shopping, paid us the compliment that our shop inventory reminded her of the now extinct Kirkcaldie and Stains.   As I see large numbers of Christmas cakes leaving the building I think of the early days when we made only a few, mainly for friends – now they are enjoyed all around NZ and overseas, are used for charity and fundraiser raffles as well as quietly eaten at home. People love this old-fashioned rich fruit cake jam-packed with fruit, butter, sherry and finished with brandy.   When we began our business I thought we’d mainly be catering dinners and parties in people’s homes, but the scale of our functions have grown with us. I am staggered sometimes at the range and complexity of the projects we have taken on. Over the years we’ve expanded our capacity and ideas for events.   Toast Martinborough is our longest-running event and we are celebrating 25 years this year. We’re looking forward to year 25 this Sunday, 20th of November, and seeing lots of our friends at Ata Rangi. Join us there for a slice of chocolate anniversary cake!   Best Wishes,   COOKING SCHOOL Victoria’s Secret Christmas O come, all ye faithful, to partake of Christmas feasting, merrymaking, and good cheer, revealing a few Victorian culinary secrets to share with Christmas revellers. New date available: Sunday 4 December 2016 10.00am - 4.00pm, morning tea will be served from 9.15am   Seafood Barbecue Bonanza With Ruth Pretty Feast on that much-loved Kiwi tradition: a summer seafood barbecue. The seafood must be fresh, the barbecue seriously hot and the accompanying salads – and the beer -- well chilled. Ruth will show you how to bring it all together to delight your friends and family over summer, with this mid-January class in the Te Horo sunshine. Did someone mention Christmas gifts? Sunday 15 January 2017 10.00am – 4.00pm, morning tea will be served from 9.15am   Kids in The Kitchen: Eat your way around the country Kids .. join Ruth and her chefs as they take you around some of New Zealand’s regional taste treats. What can you expect? Maybe her famous West Coast Whitebait Fritters? Southland Cheese Rolls? Hawkes Bay Lamb? Wednesday 18 January 2017 10.30am - 2.30pm, morning tea will be served with parents from 9.45am   Ready, Steady, Bake with Dean Brettschneider New Zealander Dean is an international baking phenomenon, with bakeries, pizzerias, cooking schools and baking-based business in Singapore, Manila and the UK, plus international consulting. He’s an excellent tutor, showing you exactly what to do, what to look for and (if necessary) how to fix a baking catastrophe.   Saturday 21 January 2017 10.00am – 4.00pm, morning tea will be served from 9.15am     SPECIAL EVENTS A Toast to Toast Martinborough Celebrating Toast Martinborough’s 25th this weekend is pretty cool. Our motto is “fresh and fast”, and it’s a huge day pulling people, food and tents together. Many people ask how we do it, so here’s the inside story.   Christmas Cakes So well-known and loved they hardly need an introduction, this is the time to order your Ruth Pretty Christmas Cake made in our kitchen by Chef Carla. Maybe as a gift for a colleague, friend or family member who can’t (or won’t) make it themselves, or even better, as a gift for yourself. It’s the perfect little pick-me-up with a cup of tea or glass of something when the Christmas spirit starts to flag slightly. Beautifully packaged, cakes can be delivered with a card all over the country or even overseas.     RUTH PRETTY SHOP Deep Quiche Pan $20.00 Dline deep quiche pan with loose base 27cm   Gift Hampers $20.00 Choose from our range of Gift Hampers, or personalize your own.     Golly Gosh Tea Towel $29.00 100% Cotton Quality Tea Towel. Printed using the latest photographic fabric printing technology.   Ruth Pretty Catering PO Box 16041, Te Horo 5544 Springfield, 41 School Road, Te Horo, Kapiti Coast Tel (06) 364-3161 Fax (06) 364-3262 ruth@ruthpretty.co.nz