Christmas Q & A with chef Caitlin Ruth

Caitlin Ruth is an award-winning chef who has been at the helm at Deasy's restaurant Ring for 16 years. Ruth has exciting plans for when Deasy's closes in the New Year but in the meantime she's got Christmas to look forward to . . .

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When do you start getting excited about Christmas?

This year, I started to get excited when my daughter Áine booked her flights home from London.

Name three celebrities that you’d invite to your Christmas get-together, and why?

Well, this year, we will have a celebrity joining us for Christmas!  The famous Capoeira Master, Mestre Popeye Fabricio Morais - all the way from Brazil. So we will have a mixture of traditional christmases- Brazilian, Irish, and American.

What is your favourite childhood memory of Christmas?

Walking through the woods in Dublin, New Hampshire, to find a Christmas tree for the house.

What would you get Boris Johnson for Christmas? Why?

Couples counselling.

If you could change one thing about Christmas Day, what would it be and why?

I’d like it to last longer.

What is the oldest Christmas decoration that you still use?

I have a little white rabbit made of cotton wool and styrofoam, that Áine made in junior infants. I think it’s a rabbit, anyway.

Regardless of tradition, what would your ideal Christmas dinner be?

Ahern’s organic bronze turkey, some kind of organic ham, stuffed pumpkin and about a hundred veg side dishes.

What is your favourite seasonal song?

This year, we’ll be listening to “Então é Natal” by Simone.

Where in the world (apart from home) would you like to be on December 25th, and why?

I couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather be than home in Timoleague with my family.

Tell us one New Year’s resolution that you’ve managed to keep? Any plans for 2020 resolutions?

I’ve managed to keep a resolution from last year of exercising five days a week, and this year I will resolve to cook a lot of new and exciting things in different places (with my mobile kitchen).

What was your favourite thing about the past year?  

Making changes to my career.

You have mulled wine and you’re under the mistletoe – who would you most like to have with you?

My boyfriend, of course!