Yorkshire


<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="738" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RuthMain-738x1024.jpeg" alt="What’s Cooking? Ruth Hansom of Hansom Restaurant &amp; Wine Bar, Bedale " class="wp-image-7844" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RuthMain-738x1024.jpeg 738w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RuthMain-216x300.jpeg 216w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RuthMain-768x1065.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RuthMain-1108x1536.jpeg 1108w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RuthMain-1477x2048.jpeg 1477w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RuthMain-scaled.jpeg 1846w" sizes="(max-width: 738px) 100vw, 738px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-was-your-first-kitchen-job-nbsp"><strong>What was your first kitchen job?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>I went to London when I was 16 and decided I was going to be a chef. I got on a train, found a flat on Gumtree where I lived with a load of women, all in their 30s, and studied at Westminster College.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I eventually got a job with one of the judges, Frederick Forster, at the Ritz and started a full-time apprenticeship. I was there for nearly five years, alongside 50 chefs in a big kitchen. It was great. We did everything from scratch and rotated through all the different sections, about six months in each. I kept getting moved back to the sauce section –&nbsp;I guess certain people are good at different things.&nbsp;<br><br>After five years, I went to Luton Hoo as head chef and stayed for two years. However, I missed London, so I went back to the Princess of Shoreditch, where I got a lot of input into everything from the menu to the interior design. There was a pub downstairs and fine dining upstairs so I got to make food I really wanted to eat.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I eventually started looking at opening my own restaurant. We did look at staying in London but wanted to do everything off our own bat, so we started looking back up north. I got a residency at Swinton Estate –&nbsp;20,000 acres, they shoot their own venison –&nbsp;and did a pop-up there, which helped us start looking for somewhere permanent.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="896" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth6-896x1024.jpeg" alt="What’s cooking? Ruth Hansom of Hansom Restaurant &amp; Wine Bar, Bedale " class="wp-image-7840" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth6-896x1024.jpeg 896w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth6-262x300.jpeg 262w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth6-768x878.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth6-1344x1536.jpeg 1344w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth6-1791x2048.jpeg 1791w" sizes="(max-width: 896px) 100vw, 896px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-been-your-career-highlight-so-far"><strong>What’s been your career highlight so far?</strong></h2>



<p>Probably my main career highlight was being asked to go on <em>Great British Menu</em>. I was 22 at the time. To go from watching it as a kid to being on it was pretty amazing.&nbsp;</p>



<p>However, one of my most memorable days at work was our first day opening this restaurant, two years ago. When you move to a little town, people bring cards and flowers before you’ve even opened. Every week now someone brings me things they’ve grown or made.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-have-you-ever-cooked-for-any-celebs"><strong>Have you ever cooked for any celebs?</strong></h2>



<p>Rishi Sunak came to the restaurant for the tasting menu and Rod Stewart used to come to the Ritz all the time. He ate a lot of caviar but he’d always come down to the kitchen and say thank you. I did cook for the Royal Family a lot. But it’s different with a restaurant like this. I always come out and meet the tables. I like to follow the experience to the end.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-been-your-biggest-mistake-at-work-nbsp"><strong>What’s been your biggest mistake at work?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>Well there was one time at The Ritz…I forgot to put the Wellington in. You usually put it in while they’re eating starters but I got called away so it never went in. We ended up giving them a few extra courses to make up for it!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-s-your-favourite-chef-nbsp"><strong>Who’s your favourite chef?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>My favourite chef is Lisa Goodwin-Allen. She’s a real inspiration to women in the industry. She runs a restaurant, raises children and cooks at a high level.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-your-favourite-dish"><strong>What’s your favourite dish?</strong></h2>



<p>My favourite has to be lasagne. My mum used to make it for us. She didn’t cook much, but she would have a day off to make it. It takes time and patience, making the roux and white sauce from scratch, cooking the ragù down for hours. It’s a foundation dish. You can’t rush it. Good things take time.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="891" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth3-891x1024.jpeg" alt="What’s Cooking? Ruth Hansom of Hansom Restaurant &amp; Wine Bar, Bedale " class="wp-image-7841" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth3-891x1024.jpeg 891w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth3-261x300.jpeg 261w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth3-768x883.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth3-1336x1536.jpeg 1336w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth3-1781x2048.jpeg 1781w" sizes="(max-width: 891px) 100vw, 891px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-the-dish-we-should-try-at-your-restaurant-nbsp"><strong>What’s the dish we should try at your restaurant?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>At the restaurant, our menu changes every month to six weeks. We use local produce, mostly within five miles. Summer fruits aren’t here yet so desserts can be tricky. But we have a lovely one with dark chocolate. hazelnut and beetroot sorbet dessert on the menu at the moment.&nbsp;We also make our own liqueurs. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-your-favourite-cookbook"><strong>What’s your favourite cookbook?</strong></h2>



<p>Instagram has taken over now and chefs are much more open to sharing their recipes, which is great. It&#8217;s actually a very supportive industry. But <em>La Roux Gastronomique</em> is still the bible. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="765" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth5-1024x765.jpg" alt="What’s Cooking? Ruth Hansom of Hansom Restaurant &amp; Wine Bar, Bedale " class="wp-image-7842" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth5-1024x765.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth5-300x224.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth5-768x574.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth5-1536x1147.jpg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth5-2048x1530.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-have-a-go-to-comfort-dish-nbsp"><strong>Do you have a go-to comfort dish?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>Cheese on toast I’m a total cheese fiend. The best cheese is Gruyère or Comté and I put a bit of Henderson’s Relish on it. I also love condiments &#8211; any condiment, especially ketchup. I used to put it on everything as a kid.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-do-you-do-to-relax-nbsp"><strong>What do you do to relax?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>I’m always at the restaurant but we close the restaurant every January for a month and go travelling. We plan the trip around two flights –&nbsp;there and back.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-your-favourite-global-foodie-dish"><strong>What’s your favourite global foodie dish?</strong></h2>



<p>My favourite food memory while travelling is street food in Vietnam –&nbsp;green papaya salad. It’s so fresh. Food there is a whole way of life, someone cooking with a pot on the street and making fish sauce&#8230;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-does-the-cooking-at-home"><strong>Who does the cooking at home?</strong></h2>



<p>I do most of the cooking at home. My husband is a chef. He’s very much a meat person, so I have to sneak in the veg. When you’re working in this profession, you tend not to go home and cook much. But I’ve had more roasts this year than in the last ten.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-your-top-cooking-tip-nbsp"><strong>What’s your top cooking tip?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>Simple &#8211; if you’re making a sauce or gravy, use proper stock. Stock cubes are too salty. Get proper stock from the butcher. It’ll make all the difference.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="834" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth1-1-1024x834.jpg" alt="What’s Cooking? Ruth Hansom of Hansom Restaurant &amp; Wine Bar, Bedale " class="wp-image-7843" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth1-1-1024x834.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth1-1-300x244.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth1-1-768x626.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth1-1-1536x1251.jpg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Ruth1-1-2048x1668.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>Book a table at <a href="http://www.hansomrestaurant.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hansom Restaurant</a> while you still can&#8230;</p>


What’s cooking? Ruth Hansom of Hansom Restaurant & Wine Bar, Bedale

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