Who could imagine that breaking one’s back would result in a new career as a personal chef? But that’s exactly what happened to Ruth Roe.
Five years ago, when Ruth was 60, she fell off a ladder in her home and suffered a compression fracture in her back which landed her in the hospital for one month and in a body brace for six months. At home, in recovery, she found sitting painful but she could stand without discomfit. And, stand she did, doing the thing that has always given her great joy and pleasure – cooking.
Up until this time, Ruth had worked happily in non-profits, but as she was recovering, preparing food for herself and her children, she had time to reflect on how she wanted to spend her time going forward. Ruth was in introspective mode, not only because of her accident, but because she was in the middle of difficult divorce.
After studying the culinary arts in San Francisco, New York and in Florence, Italy, Ruth started her personal chef business by cooking for people with chronic illness, people who had recently left the hospital after an operation and women who had just given birth.
“I know what it is to feel depleted and needing to concentrate on your healing,” Ruth exclaims, “the last thing you can muster energy to do is to prepare the kind of nutritious food you absolutely need to regain your strength.”
Ruth has helped people with Crone’s Disease, Celiac Disease, allergies and now, as her business is growing, Ruth plans on working with hospital discharge nurses and dieticians to make her service more widely available to people who wouldn’t otherwise know about it.
While Ruth is the Good Samaritan personal chef, she is just as much focused on producing elegant luncheons, dinner parties and other special foodie events. “I can think of nothing more wonderful than breaking bread with good friends,” Ruth says with a big smile.
Ruth belongs to three professional organizations: The American Personal and Private Chef Association (a private chef works solely for one employer), The Women Chefs and Restaurateurs and Slow Food San Francisco.
Slow Food San Francisco reflects Ruth’s philosophy of using fresh food created with care from healthy plants and animals. Ruth’s specialty is California Cuisine with an Italian flair.
Some of her mouth-watering favorites:
• Roasted Vegetable Panzenella – baby tomatoes, green beans, Italian butter beans, and fresh Mozzarella cheese with Balsamic Vinaigrette.
• White Bean Soup with Roasted Red Pepper Crostini – made with Cannellini beans pancetta, chicken broth and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Pan-Seared Tri Tip Steak – caramelized onions, roasted portabella mushrooms, sautéed spinach and pan roasted potatoes.
• Risotto with roasted baby artichokes and asiago cheese.
Presently, Ruth’s business name is The Seasoned Cook. Wanting to construct a web-site, and needing a new domain name, Ruth will be changing her business name to “The Cook for All Seasons.” Until then, the best way to reach Ruth Roe is by telephone at 415.931.4657 and by email at theseasonedcook@gmail.com.
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