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Local Voices

Farm & Fable Opens Today at 251 Shawmut Ave

Farm & Fable has opened its doors to share an incredible collection of vintage and antiquarian cookbooks, new heirlooms, and a demonstration kitchen with Boston’s South End. Proprietress Abigail Ruettgers shares her passion for all things culinary in a farmhouse-inspired shop featuring curated items ranging from serious to kitschy cookbooks, to vintage lobster pots and eggbeaters. Located at the corner of Shawmut Ave. and Milford Street, Farm & Fable also features a professional demonstration kitchen where Ruettgers hosts a wide rage of culinary demonstrations, classes, and dinners.

 

The Cookbooks

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A lifelong collector, Ruettgers, puts her prizes on display in an appealing and accessible way, allowing patrons to interact with the cookbooks and sift through what appeals to them.  Farm & Fable features a variety of vintage cookbooks on a wide range of topics, as well as an assortment of ‘new classics’ that feature many local, Boston-area chefs and restaurants, in addition to other popular titles.

 

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For true collectors and cookbook fanatics, the shop also offers a selection of rare and antique cookbooks dating from as far back as the early 1800s, showcasing how fascinating culinary history truly is.  The store offers a ‘grab bag’ of fun, kitschy and unusual books such as Cooking in the Nude and Manifold Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine! -- showcasing the scope of fads and eccentricities throughout the years.

 

Selections from the cookbook collection at Farm & Fable are available online through their webstore, at www.farmandfable.com.

 

The Design

Designed by Ruettgers with her construction team, Kennedy Design Build, the first floor of Farm & Fable resembles a cozy, rustic farmhouse.  Abby sources her décor the same way she sources her unique merchandise, by searching antique shows and collecting family heirlooms over the course of her career.   The shop features reclaimed mill and barn wood floors, an antique kitchen cabinet found at Brimfield during her college days, and an antique stove piled high with a variety of cast iron, copper and enamel pots and pans available for purchase. Purchased from an auction in Nantucket, an old English oval-shaped farm table graces the center of the space, and is always set for dinner complete with mismatched dishes and chairs.

 

In addition to the large bookcases housing Farm & Fable’s cookbook collection, the shop features vintage china, antique cooking accessories and kitchen equipment, as well as a wall of framed, vintage, food-themed artwork all available for customers to add to their home. Additionally the checkout station features a vintage soapstone farmhouse sink, filled with Farm & Fable’s for-sale potted plants from her family’s garden, but also making the perfect bar addition for evening events at the shop. 

 

The Demonstration Kitchen and Classes

Downstairs from the shop’s street-level main floor is an industrial, professional-style demo kitchen designed with the help of RealFood Consulting. The kitchen features induction cooktops and a butcher-block wraparound counter seating 10 guests. Farm & Fable offers a variety of weekly cooking classes ranging in price from $25 - $200 per person, hosted by Abby as well as local chefs and culinary experts.  The kitchen also hosts children’s workshops for Boston’s youngest epicurean talent.

 

 

 

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A class at Farm & Fable is reminiscent of attending a gourmand-friend’s dinner party.  Ruettgers aims for the programs to be social, educational, and a true community effort.  Participants are in charge of helping the instructor with retrieving kitchen tools, chopping ingredients and even help setting the upstairs farm table for dinner. A brass bell from 1870 signals the beginning and end of each class.

 

Upcoming classes include:

 

Adult Classes:

Stocking the Pantry: Jellies, Jams, Vinegars, and Pickling

Oyster Shucking and Pairing

Knife Skills: Beginner to Advanced

Pies and Tarts: Secrets to a Perfect Crust

Wild Game: Hunting, Cleaning and Preparing

Holiday Entertaining:  Cocktails, Hors D’Oeuvres, and Food Gifts for Friends

 

Kids Classes:

From seed to skillet: Where does food come from?

Around the world in 80 plates: Exploring new cultures and new foods

Yes Ma'am, No Sir, Please and Thank You: Dinner Etiquette for Kids

 

About the Owner

A former litigator, Abigail Ruettgers left the law world to embrace her penchant for good food, going to work for fellow career-changer, Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery + Café. During her time at Flour, her entrepreneurial spirit developed from a pool of ideas to a focused vision for a true passion project:  Farm & Fable.  Abby has spent her life traveling all over the country searching estate sales, flea markets and antique shops for vintage gems and now each treasure had a purpose: to grace the shelves of the shop.

 

Inspired by antiquarian and vintage cookbook rock star, Celia Sack of Omnivore Books in San Francisco, Abby aims to create a shop that is an extension of her home.  The people that come into her shop or take a class in Farm & Fable’s demo kitchen are her guests and she aims to make them feel relaxed and welcome.  Abby’s confidence, warmth and remarkable breadth of knowledge are reflected in her South End shop.  She creates a place to relax, to learn, and to discover—bringing people together over a shared love of the culinary arts.

ABOUT FARM & FABLE:

Farm & Fable brings vintage and antiquarian cookbooks and kitchen tools to Boston’s South End.  Farm & Fable is an extension of owner and operator Abigail Ruettgers home, featuring a farmhouse inspired show room and completed with a demo kitchen that hosts classes and demonstrations.  Farm & fable is located at 251 Shawmut Avenue in Boston’s South End, and is open Tuesday-Sunday 11-7. For more information about Farm & Fable, please call 617-451-1110 or visit the website at www.farmandfable.com or visit us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

 

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