Delicious UK - (04)April 2020

WOMAN FOR ALL SEASONS

thieremembers the

asonal produce of her

uth,the paper-thin

stryof her Hungarian

andmother’s strudel

d the courage of her

eatfriend Rose Gray

SUMMERANDWINTER

I grewupinupstateNewYork.Therewehadveryhot

summers(blueberries,cornonthecob,beingoutside)

andbeautifulautumns(wonderfulcoloursinthetrees,

pumpkinsforHalloween,freezingcolddays).I oncelived

inLosAngelesfora whileandmissedthatcontrast.

MYFRIENDROSE

RoseandI metbecauseshedidherA-Levelsatthesame

sixth-formcollegeasmyhusband,Richard[Rogers,the

acclaimedarchitect].Openingtherestaurantin 1987

wasa leapoffaith.It helpedthatit wassucha tiny

space.Richarddesignedit forus,andthesizemeant

wecouldgrowalongsideit.Rosewasa courageous

cook– shewashappytomakemistakes.Herfortewas

TuscanfoodandshealsolovedPiedmonteseandother

northernItalianfood,suchasvealandgamebirds,

whichwestillcookattherestaurant.

THEJOYOFCOOKING

I lovetheprocessofwhatI do.I likethatit’spartmethod

andpartinvention.Havinga methodcalmsyoudown:

fryingthegarlic,thendrainingthetomatoes,putting

theminthepan...Thenit’sabouttaste:howmuchsalt,

pepper,howlongtocookthetomatoes.I liketheorder

aswellasthemorepassionatecreativity.

BEANSANDGREENS

WhatI cookintherestaurantI cookat home.Mycomfort

foodis vegetablesintheirseason.I mightcomehome

andhavefreshcannellinibeans,chard,chicoryand

greens– I’mreallyhappywitha dinnerlikethat.

EYEFORDETAIL

My Hungarian grandmother arrived in the US with a

wave of immigrants in 1908. Her pastry for apple strudel

was so thin you could read a newspaper through it – and

now I say to my chefs I want to see every grain of salt

and nutmeg in the pasta they’re making!

The River Cafe is in west London. For reservations,

visit rivercafe.co.uk

More than 30 years ago, US-born Ruth

set up the iconic River Cafe in London

with British chef Rose Gray, who died in

2010. Here Ruth reveals that her drive for
      perfection in the kitchen was inspired by
      the paper-thin pastry of her grandmother

RUTH ROGERS

A SLICE OF MY LIFE

INTERVIEW: KERRY FOWLER. PHOTOGRAPHS: DA

VID LOFTUS, ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES

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18 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

people.