Chef caters for hobbits and royalty

Ruth Pretty enjoyed last year's F.A.W.C! cooking class at Sileni Estate so much she is back again this year with a mid-winter feast. Photo / File

Ruth Pretty has catered for everyone from royalty to guests at Wellington's famous World of Wearable Arts event.

Amy Shanks asks how she started out and why she keeps coming back for more of Hawke's Bay's Food and Wine Classic. The talented chef will be at Sileni Estates Wineryfrom 9.30am to host Midwinter Christmas.

1 How did you get into cooking and catering and how has it grown?
Many years ago I owned a restaurant in Kelburn, Wellington. I sold that quite shortly after various clients from the restaurant asked me to cater - that's how it started. It wasn't a plan it just ended up in my lap.

Since then I have cooked for royalty, [including] a garden party for 1500 at Government House, Wellington, in honour of HRH Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Frequently catered for official government functions for the Prime Minister, hosting overseas dignitaries, most recently the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Also a World Premiere party for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King movie for 2500 guests, which was a lovely follow-up to catering the trilogy's wrap party for 2500 guests.

2 Tell us how you got involved with F.A.W.C! and what you love about it.
Of course I would do anything for Sam Orton [Orton Catering] they have a similar catering style to our company. We do custom menus, we deal very hands on with customers, we cater to an upper end of the market.

There are a relatively small number of people who do that in New Zealand so over the years we have kept in touch. Also I love Sileni wines and I came last year with a difference class subject, so I was keen to return.

3 What does your mid-winter Christmas event at Sileni today entail and what can people expect?
It's a collection of favourite Christmas recipes. At our cooking school, we create a Christmas menu every year. I have gone back over 25 years - it's the most popular subject it outweighs all others 10 to 1.

In New Zealand, we tend to do Christmas at home whereas in a lot of places people go out.

First it's a lovely menu for mid-winter Christmas - it will still taste as good at Christmas but it is well enjoyed at this time of year. We will give them a lot of hints and tips to make Christmas easier for them, what they can do ahead, how to heat their plates all of those little details and they will have a great day out.

We are downstairs at Sileni where there is a lovely little demo kitchen, then tables will be elegantly set in a modern Christmas theme.

There are recipes to take away, morning tea, drinks and canapes. Tell people not to have breakfast.

4 What is your favourite meal to cook?
My favourite meal at the moment comes from Hawke's Bay. It is a roast Bostock chicken with rosemary and lemon. I have never done rosemary in chicken but it's delicious because it's such a meaty chicken.

At the moment, we have got perennial rocket in the garden so I do a salad with chopped red onion, shredded parmesan and vinaigrette.

In Wellington, there must be restrictions on the chicken, at Moore Wilson's people line up to get one. It's like the chocolate milk all over again, people go crazy for them.

5 You also take cooking classes what kind of people attend them?
It's always such a big mix of people - sometimes it's family groups, a mother and daughter, husbands and wives, people on a date sometimes people come on their own.

Generally, they all share a love of food and wine - some people say they can't cook but they like to hear about it.