Ruth Pretty during her induction into the Kāpiti Business Hall of Fame. Photo / Captured by Friday
It’s a beautiful spring day as I venture up the driveway to Ruth Pretty’s residence in Te Horo.
Birds are in song, there’s not a whisper of wind, the sun is shining, and the gardens are thriving courtesy of the warmer weather.
Ruth greets me with her three pug dogs in tow, and we venture through her charming homestead to the large kitchen where we sit around a kitchen table.
She pours me a glass of water from a blue wine bottle.
“We have very nice water here.” Indeed it is.
Her husband Paul wanders through the kitchen, says hello, then ventures into the garden and goes off on an errand.
The three pugs settle into their cosy cushioned beds for a snooze.
I’m there to discover what she thought about a special accolade bestowed on her, a few days earlier, and a bit about her stellar culinary career.
Ruth has been a leading New Zealand chef, caterer, teacher, and food writer, for a long time.
Now enjoying a well-deserved retirement, she’s enjoying a slower pace of life compared to the demanding, yet enjoyable time, spearheading her successful Ruth Pretty Catering company.
The special accolade happened at the Electra Business and Innovation Awards, held in the Horowhenua Events Centre, when, before a large number of people, Ruth was inducted into the Kāpiti Business Hall of Fame.
“It was very nice and I feel quite honoured.”
Ruth grew up in Karori where her parents Eric and Betty owned the Apex Grocery store.
Eric would go on to own the Big A which was one of the first supermarkets in Wellington.
She helped out in the store and learnt a lot about different food-related things from slicing ham and more.
“I enjoyed working there and learnt a lot of things about food.”
At home, she loved cooking, reading books from the library about cooking, and enjoyed listening to a radio programme that had a cooking focus.
“I always helped Mum when she was making something.
“When I was about 12 I could cook a roast dinner.”
Ruth went to Wellington Girls College, then Victoria University for a bit, but soon changed tack and went to a drama school, which is now known as Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School.
After a spell working in a clothing shop, Ruth and business partner/co-chef David Jordan established the popular Marbles restaurant, in Kelburn, which they decided to sell to an interested buyer after about a decade.
Ruth and husband Paul moved to Te Horo and bought a lovely sprawling property, where they’ve been for nearly 40 years, and where their culinary empire would be based.
Because of her time at the restaurant, Ruth got inquiries to cater for various dinners around the Wellington region.
Business increased, as word of mouth spread, and soon the couple decided to upscale, leading to the creation of a purpose-built catering kitchen, and more.
With Ruth handling the culinary side, and Paul the logistics, Ruth Pretty Catering quickly became well-known.
“It was very busy and we were going to Wellington a lot and north to things like weddings.
“In no time at all we were going all sorts of different places around New Zealand.”
Her team was seen at some of the capital’s biggest and most prestigious events from movie premieres such as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Lovely Bones, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and King Kong, to Air New Zealand Wine Awards and the World of WearableArt (WOW)
The team catered for VIP guests at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, managed the New Zealand pavilion VIP hospitality lounge at World Expos in Japan and China, and was the VIP caterer for Emirates Team New Zealand at the America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain, and more.
Ruth also spearheaded a cooking school and estimates more than 30,000 people attended various cooking classes.
She wrote a weekly newspaper column, spoke on RNZ, operated a kitchen shop, had a branded range of preserves, and wrote several cookbooks.
“It was always enjoyable but you have to concentrate if you want to get it right.
“We’ve also made friends from all around the world.”
Earlier this year Ruth, who is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the food industry, decided to close the business which had been going strong for 36 years.
“I had been thinking about it for a while and then woke up one morning and said to Paul that I couldn’t do it anymore.
“It had been a very busy career and I’d seldom have a day off.”
Looking back at her career, Ruth has a great sense of pride and achievement.
“I always feel quite proud that I did it well.”
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