Blowing our own trumpet

It has been an extraordinarily exciting time for us lately.

Creating a new brand from scratch was a daunting prospect, especially on a shoestring.  Other well known brands of pots and pans have huge marketing budgets, which seems a little unfair when you consider that so many of them are already household names.
I suppose we also tied one hand behind our backs with the decision to sell our wares through the independent, imaginative and often eccentric shops on your High Street, rather than going for the lure of the mega order from the chain stores.
This (still) means, as you probably already know, my filling up the car - the original Little Blue Van - has been replaced by a newer blue van - and touring the country looking for likely stockists.

These wonderful shops are, quite literally, our shop window and have done so much to bring our range to the public's attention.  We love the fact that establishments as diverse as pubs, bookshops, farm shops and fireplace showrooms are just as likely to stock us as traditional cook shops and that all of these offer true individuality, a great choice of goods, genuine passion for what they are doing, great product knowledge and customer service.
I'm sure that the reps who go into some of the bigger department stores for meetings don't get a hug!!

They have supported us and we are doing whatever we can to support them - and the best way we can do that is to supply them with great British-made cookware, that people will come looking for.
Thank you to all of them. Please help us by visiting them - you can find them all listed here

And that is why we are so very grateful to the well known and professional people who have lent us their support.

We know that our pans are good, but when highly respected chefs say so, then people start to pay a little more attention.
First up is Stevie Parle from the Dock Kitchen in London - he spotted us way back and has been using our casserole dish and frying pans ever since.  He created a fabulous recipe for the Sunday Telegraph, for whom he is a regular contributor and cooked it in our casserole dish


Since then his head chef, the talented Rich Blackwell keeps me posted with what's going into the frying pans. 

Many of you will know James, as son of Dick Strawbridge and they took delivery of some pans to use on their hugely entertaining Saturday Farm TV show, that was filmed at Daylesford Farm.

James is now the proud owner of one of our tagines and if you look further down the blog, you will come across the special chicken recipe he created just for us.

On now to the stars of Shropshire and many thanks for all your support to......

Will Holland, who has now migrated to Wales and cooked this gorgeous Tarte Tatin in one of our oven safe crepe pans  As far as we know, Will is now in Jersey

Marcus Bean has not only used our pans on stage at the Shrewsbury and Ludlow Food festivals, he takes them with  him to all his demos and regularly uses them at the Cookery School.

He also included us in his Kitchen Saviours article for the Guardian, describing the usefulness of the Kitchen Companion, one of our most versatile products.

Chris Burt's prodigious talents see him running the stunning Peach Tree and Momo-No-Ki restaurants in Shrewsbury and he is so impressed with our woks, that they are the only ones used in the Momo-No-Ki kitchen  Update: Chris is now cooking up a storm at the Mytton and Mermaid and still using Netherton pans

Suree Coates  is a celebrated and award winning Thai chef.

Robert Swift, master baker has lent his support and expertise to the development of the latest addition to the Netherton range - these superb loaf tins will be available in February, complete with recipes by Robert.

But I've been saving the best news til last.............

Drum roll please..............

Showcasing the pans at Taste of London, was Michelin starred chef Adam Gray,from the Skylon restaurant. Adam is now at the Devonshire Club

Food writer and broadcaster par excellence, Diana Henry recommended us as her find of the year in her "must have" Christmas gift guide 

And finally, as an early Christmas to both herself and us - the undisputed goddess of the kitchen, Nigella Lawson got her hands on one of our slow cookers.

    

As if all that weren't enough, we were honoured and privileged to be asked to present one of our hand painted tagines as a Shropshire gift to HRH the Princess Royal on her recent visit to the Shropshire Women and Children's Centre at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.  We were fortunate enough to meet Her Royal Highness.

Read all about the visit here...

Last week brought yet more excitement with our attendance at Theo Paphitis's #SBS event in Birmingham, where he told us that we all have to blow our own trumptes, because if we don't no-one else will.

Well, it looks as though he may have half a point there - because we have been blowing so hard, that we now have a backing chorus blowing along with us.

And that backing team includes his #SBS  team who selected us as one of seven companies to be showcased in 10 key Robert Dyas stores.

We are not there yet, and there is still a long way to go, but we are certainly on our way to becoming a household name and giving the "big boys" something to think about.

So a HUGE "Thank you " to everyone supporting us on our journey, keep shouting, there are still some folk at the back that haven't heard (of) us yet.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

The Demo Chef - two new recipes

PHIL LEVERINGTON

THE WORLD'S ONLY NON-CELEBRITY CHEF

We have been fortunate to have the support of Phil, who describes himself as the world's only "non-celebrity chef" from the early days of Netherton Foundry.  Our British made cookware chimes with his philosophy of supporting local producers and championing traditional cooking.

"A passionate advocate of a return to more traditional methods of sourcing, preparation and cooking of local food"

He has taken our pots and pans around the country to all manner of foodie events and his demonstration skills and witty banter have entertained and informed thousands of people.

Seriously - if you want to draw the crowds at your food festival - book the Demo Chef.

Phil LOVES cooking and is always happy to help us with development work - he is the inspiration behind the bacon and steak presses - watch the video to see him create a restaurant quality dish using One Pan, One Knife, One Dish 

Here are two brand new recipes that he has created for us, using locally sourced produce and a selection of his Netherton Foundry wares.

Caramelised Fennel Dauphinoise

(Serves 8-10)

1kg medium-sized potatoes, very thinly sliced

2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced, fronds reserved

300ml whole milk

400ml double cream

100g butter

Butter, for roasting dish

2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan

Maldon Salt

Black pepper

Method

Generously butter a  casserole dish

Heat the oven to 180ºC or 160º for a fan oven, gas Mark 4

Layer half of the potatoes and butter in the casserole, seasonng lightly as you go.

Our on half of the cream and milk.

In a frying pan caramelise the finely sliced fennel - gently heat a tablespoon of rapeseed oil, add the sliced fennel and cook slowly until they start to take on a golden colour -  then lay them on top of the first layer of potatoes.

Layer the remaining potatoes and butter and finish with milk and double cream, again seasoning lightly as you go.

Scatter with Parmesan. Bake for about an hour until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.

Snip the reserved fennel fronds over before serving.

Easy!

Smoked Onion and Black Garlic Ketchup

1kg white onions

8 cloves black garlic

100g dark Muscovado sugar

Maldon salt to season

Rapeseed oil

2oz butter

Method

Coarsely chop the onions.

Set aside uncovered for 2-3 hours and allow a pellicle to form; this is a dry skin in the food that allows the "smoke" to adhere to the food, giving it more flavour without drying it out in the process.

Following the instructions - smoke for one hour in your Netherton Foundry smoker. You can do this on the hob or using the Kitchen Companion.

Remove the smoker set and wash out the casserole. Replace it on the Kitchen Companion or on the hob.

Add the butter and rapeseed oil and heat gently. When the butter foams, add the onions, black garlic, Muscovado sugar and cook for about 15 mins.

Add salt to taste and a knob of butter to add a shine.

Set aside to cool.

When cooled place in food processor / blender and puree.

Store in the fridge for up to a week.

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Looking back over 2014 and forward to 2015

It's the start of a brand new year and I hope it brings you all health, happiness and prosperity.

As I'm sure you know, January is allegedly named after the Roman god, Janus, who looked back to the past and forward to the future in his role as god of beginnings and transitions......... and so here are my musings as we move from one year to the next.

Looking back on 2014 we were, as ever, delighted to welcome new stockists to the growing list, whilst we also bade a sad farewell to others.  The retail trade is under siege at present, and it behoves us all to support the independent retailers who afford us choice, service and product knowledge in contrast to the faceless corporations swallowing up the "retail parks".  Head into any of our stockists and you will get a warm welcome from people with a genuine love of what they are doing and knowledge of what they are selling. They will guide and advise you to make sure that what you leave with is something that you will use and possibly even treasure.

And of course, its' not just the cook shops to whom we are indebted - our eclectic list of independent retailers includes pubs, gifts shops, museum shops, farm shops, delicatessens, restaurants, service stations and even a couple of book shops.  Hurrah for initiative, imagination and collaboration.

I would urge you all to support your local shops - they are often cheaper than you imagine them to be and you know the adage - use it or lose it - once they are gone, it is hard to get them back.

We are also very excited to add a very special name to the stockist list - that of Flesichwolf und Lotte - a fabulous cook shop in Berlin - the campaign to spread the word about Shropshire cookware globally is picking up pace.  We hope to be able to bring you more news about export sales during 2015. Update: this lovely Berlin store has now closed, but Netherton cookware is available across Germany in the Manufactum stores

Right from the start, we have had some amazing backing from some great chefs, including Will Holland, Stevie Parle, Marcus Bean and Phil Leverington and this has continued throughout 2014.

Our woks are now in use at the simply stunning MomoNoKi restaurant in Shrewsbury, home to the supremely talented Chris Burt. Update: Chris is now at the Mytton and Mermaid

Adam Gray, of the Michelin starred Skylon restaurant, used our pans for his demonstration at Taste of London Update: Adam is now at the Devonshire Club in London

Food writer Diana Henry described our range as her "find of the year", with the warning of "Look out" aimed at the giant that is le Creuset.

And to top it all off - what about Nigella Lawson owning one of our slow cookers and describing it as "a thing of beauty" - we can't wait to hear what she is going to cook in it.
Here it is in her kitchen.......

Food festivals
2014 saw us return for the second Shrewsbury Food Festival - and what a success story that is - all credit to the organisers for creating a "must go" event right from the off.   Record attendances, great demonstrations from everyone on the Wenlock Spring stage - using Netherton Foundry pans of course - a mouth watering selection of food and drink suppliers, first class entertainment and the opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new ones. Where else will you meet a town crier who is over 7' tall.......

It was our first year at Ludlow Food Festival, which was phenomenally hard work and tremendous fun, we were invited to the Lichfield Food festival by our friends at the Kitchen Shop, where our Lichfield Oink went down a storm.

 and a first all round for the Severn Valley railway - a brilliant combination of steam trains, food and drink.


Looking forward to 2015 - there is lots of exciting news in the pipeline, but we are sworn to secrecy, so you will have to be patient.

What I can tell you  is that we are already working on new additions to the range (check out the recent Facebook postings), are in negotiations for some major export opportunities, will be back at Shrewsbury and Ludlow Food Festivals, are always on the lookout for new stockists..............and look forward to talking to as many of you as we can either through the power of social media, on the phone or even in person.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk