If you've met Ruth Bruten you'll know what I mean when I say that being with her is like being in a Tove Jansson Moomin Troll story. So scandi-cool and funny and quirky and interesting. Ruth is multi-techni-colourful in her Marimekko prints and cloppy clogs and even though you're not quite sure where she's taking you, you KNOW it's going to be a super fun adventure...
Right now, if you don't know her I bet you're wishing you did! Riiiight? Yes.. thought so.
I was lucky enough to win a couple of tickets via Steps Australia to Ruth's Clever Clogs Cooking Class which was held at the beautiful Hobba in Prahran.
Taz from Butter and Buntings (who also happens to be my sister-in-law) snapped up the opportunity to join me and so we met up beforehand to stress out about whether our knives were sharp enough and to eat high end Malvern Road samosa before heading in to mingle with a bunch of lovely foodie blogger types.
Hobba is delightful! I definitely plan to head back there to eat something delicious one day soon. Before the class began Ruth bubbled around giving hugs and being a bit nervous while the guests all enjoyed a little tipple before sidling up to the extra-tall bench and demonstrating 4 recipes she has developed using only one chook!!
FOUR recipes from ONE chook!! ONE!
A broth, a soup, a salad and fritters and she sent us home with a wee booklet containing a bunch more chickeny ideas to try at home.
Ruth taught us all about great Aussie ethical meat producers and why it is important to buy from a farmer instead of from a supermarket and I am well and truly inspired to make better choices in this area. Here are some ace meat producers we should all be supporting:
We then donned cute green and white stripy aprons and picked up the huge cooks knives that were provided by Steps Australia (we needn't have stressed about the sharpness of ours) and were guided through the process of breaking down a chook like an expert.
I was so proud of my efforts! I can honestly say that Ruth's class has changed the way I view chicken and I highly doubt that I'll ever buy a pre-portioned chook again. It's so much more economical to purchase a whole chicken and to be able to get so much from just one bird means a family without a lot of spare cash can actually afford to buy from an ethical producer. Win!
SO!
I really think you should go to Ruth's next class... She didn't tell me or pay me to say that but I think that anyone from a novice to an experienced cook would find her classes inspiring and full of useful information. In case you missed the link up there, you can find out more information about Ruth's Clever Clogs Cooking Classes right.....
HERE!
