‘For our sixth date Matthew took me away to Hawaii’
Ruth Mumma and Matthew Foster
Jobs: Co-founders of Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner in Camden Market Ages: Ruth is 42, Matthew is 41
Live: Camden Town
Length of time together: 18 months Status: Official
The meet-cute
Matthew: We met using the dating app Zoosk, and after a bit of chat I asked her out. Our first date was in December 2016 at the Lamb & Flag in Covent Garden. I found a pub with a fireplace because Ruth had mentioned how much she liked sitting by a fire with a glass of wine when we first starting chatting. She was even more beautiful than I could have imagined: we stood up to move tables and I did a double-take — she blew me away. We just clicked the moment we met.
Close call
Ruth: Matthew was late to our first date because he went to the wrong pub and I almost started chatting with a guy I thought was him. Luckily he showed up just before I went to go and talk to the guy, or things could have ended up differently!
The holiday romance
Ruth: For our sixth date Matthew took me to Hawaii. He even pulled off surprising me by saying we were going to Scotland. Luckily he told me with an anagram before we left so I packed bathing suits instead of winter coats. We were there for Valentine’s Day and watched the sunset from the beach that night. I’ll remember every moment for ever.
Getting down to business
Ruth: Matthew has been a chef for more than 25 years and wanted a restaurant that expressed his love and compassion for all living things. I was a teacher for 18 years and wanted to continue to teach but in a different way. Last year we talked about our dreams and decided to launch Rudy’s Vegan Diner in Camden Market in April — it just happened naturally. It’s a place where Matthew can express his creativity and passions, and since the long-term goal is to host educational workshops about vegan food, it’s also a place where I can still learn and get to work with children. Matthew is the chef and I couldn’t possibly compete — I’m the sous chef at work and at home.
The name game
Ruth: The name of the restaurant was another one of Matthew’s romantic gestures. He came home and told me to check my email. When I did, I saw that he named the diner after me. I started to cry. Rudy is a nickname that my father gave to me when I was a little girl. The dirty vegan part is all about the vegan junk food we create — not Matthew.
Moving in
Ruth: We moved in together after four months. We didn’t intend for it to be that quick — Matthew was just supposed to stay with me for a bit, but we both loved it so we decided to make it permanent. We’ve been living together for more than a year in Camden. It’s a 15-minute walk to work.
The perfect match
Ruth: Matthew is a creative dreamer and I’m a pragmatic realist, so you could say it’s a case of opposites attract — but it works. I love his creativity: he’s a writer, an artist and a talented chef who can make anything vegan.
The L-bomb
Matthew: I told Ruth I loved her on New Year’s Day and she cried. She did eventually tell me she felt the same once the tears stopped — four months later.
The London love story
Matthew: We’ve spent nearly every minute of every day together since setting up Rudy’s in January so we haven’t been on a date in ages. But we’ve loved exploring all the vegan restaurants in London, especially on our doorstep in Camden Market. They’re all so yummy but we do have to say Magic Falafel truly has magical falafels — we’ve grabbed many while setting up Rudy’s. We both have a bit of a sweet tooth and just about died when we first went to Ms Cupcake in Brixton — it’s vegan heaven. All of their sweet treats are delicious and they look awesome too — and the cookie sandwich is a classic American diner serve. Right away, we knew we had to have them on the menu at Rudy’s — the red velvet cookie sandwiches are our bestselling dessert!