The annual review

As 2017 draws inextricably to a close, we take a look back.

And we are also looking ahead to the New Year.

Settle back, pour yourself a drink - it's allowed, whatever time of day it is it's still technically Christmas - and get out the dustpan and brush; there's going to be a lot of name dropping to sweep up!

Two personal highlights stand out for me.

The first was attending Diana Henry's writing course at Otter Farm.  Mark Diacono was the perfect host; Claire Thompson a sublime caterer; Diana Henry the most generous of teachers; patient, encouraging and happy to share her knowledge and experience, whilst we soaked up every carefully nuanced and carefully chosen word and phrase and, last but not least, an inspiring cohort of classmates; fun and funny, cheerful and cheering and, in some case, an in real life meeting of social media acquaintances.  Much is made of the negative impact of all kinds of social media, but we have found that if you apply the sames rules in the virtual world as you do in the real world, principally "do as you would be done by", then it is a happy, friendly and supportive environment. I wouldn't be able to write this blog without the introductions made on our social media platforms.

The second was another social media experience, an Instagram workshop run by the talented and delightful Matt Inwood. This took place at the Kensington Arms in Bristol, not, it must be said, promising from the outside, but glorious within, with a strong team in the kitchen dishing up the added bonus of a fine dinner at the end of the session.  Once again it was the open handed sharing of skill and knowhow that shone out.  Matt's photographs are startlingly in their composition and execution, they wake us to the depth of artistic potential in day to day objects, draw the eye to the most seemingly mundane details and elevate them to become features in their own right.  Backgrounds come to the fore, shadows are suddenly highlights and edges are something you fall off into another dimension.  He is not a miracle worker, he cannot divine you his own artistic talent and artist's eye (although his daughter, Tilly, does appear to have inherited it - check out her Instagram account @tilly_inwood; he cannot turn your sow's ear into a silk purse, but he can show you how to serve the ear more appetisingly.

The following list of acknowledgements is not a bragger's charter; it is offered with both thanks to everyone contained therein and pride in what we have achieved, what we do and what we stand for.  It is also a reminder of how hard we have worked to get this far; none of these plaudits came easily, we did not sit back and wait for well known faces and respected voices to fall over us, nor did we (could we afford) to employ the services of a PR agency.  

This is us.

January 2015 was the first blog entry when I could, with honesty and pride, parade our achievements.  It marked the start of our claim to be a "brand".  We were not, are still not, a household name; but people whom we admire had begun to admire and laud our cookware and our ethos.

And it felt good!!

Two books, published in 2017 and which featured, wholly deservedly, in so many of the year end best books line up, contained Netherton products.

The front cover of Claire Thompson's Art of the Larder has been seen all over the place, but snuggled cosily between the pages and sitting proudly on the back cover, you will find one of our prospector pans.  

This book is such a straightforwardly good idea and puts me in mind of a modern day equivalent of my 1930s household management books.  There is a lot of (generally ignorant) criticism about current food writing, frequently centred on the use of esoteric, hard to find ingredients, used once and then pushed to the back of the cupboard like that jumper you bought in the sales, only to get it home and realise that mustard was very definitely not your colour!  Then there is the concern, borne of a lack of culinary foundation within our education system - don't get me started or allow me onto my soapbox, I'll be here til next December - that the techniques and method will be beyond the ability of the reader.

This book sets about both of these with a practical, achievable approach. Creating a larder stocked with  a realisable range of basic and using simple cooking techniques, this book enables us all to become confident in the shops as well as in the kitchen.

Another original idea is Ed Smith's On the Side, giving centre stage attention to all the extras that make a meal; the side dishes that complement and enhance the main attraction and which, in our house at least, are often the main event in themselves. 

One of our frying pans can be found, full of radishes, within. 

Less widely publicised, but no less a work of art, is Rachel McCormack's Chasing the Dram, a hymn to the praise of cooking with whiskey, with stunning photographs by the eternally modest Del Sneddon and if you haven't heard of Del, head over to his Twitter and Instagram pages (@weerascal) for a real visual treat. 

In other words: we also appeared in a number of newspaper articles...........

We were delighted, if somewhat daunted by a visit from Telegraph writer Xanthe Clay.  It seemed only polite to offer sustenance to anyone who takes the time and trouble to travel to Highley, but what to give someone who has trained at Leith's?  Thank fully lunch passed off without mishap and Xanthe's copy was submitted to and published by the Telegraph.  This prompted one of the most  memorable telephone conversations of the year when an American gentleman, who had read the article on-line, called to place his order whilst sitting in a traffic jam in Jakarta.

It was, we felt , a sad day when the Independent published its final print copy in 2016. But it was a proud day when Julia Pal Leonard published this article in their on line edition.

What's more, we popped up again and again in assorted broadsheet papers courtesy of Ed Smith and Lisa Markwell (The Times) and Mark Diacono and Stevie Parle (The Guardian), as well as two listings in the Observer Christmas gift guide.

We thank you all; your support means a great deal to us both personally and as a business.

And it was not just the printed word.

At the Good Life Experience, which we attended for the 3rd consecutive year (it gets better and better), Neil, the driving force and creative genius behind Netherton Foundry, was interviewed by Mark Shayler for the inaugural podcast of his series, Making Stuff Better, Making Better Stuff; we couldn't have put it better ourselves. You can listen to the podcast here Selling woks to China.

Larger than life character Christian Stephenson, aka DJBBQ had his work cut out performing along side Rylan Clark Neal and Alison Hammond on This Morning, 2 huge personalities in their own right, but his winning ways did the trick and Rylan lost his avocado virginity on air, whilst our prospector pan sat happily front of stage.

Rounding off the year with 3, yes 3, consecutive appearances of our prospector pans on Nigella's BBC2 series, At My Table, really did out the sparkle into our Christmas.

Innovation and development.

During the year we have collaborated with two very different bakers; Vanessa Kimbell is the undisputed doyenne of sourdough baking and Val Stones, the cake whisperer and undoubted star from GBBO's BBC days, who has recently made a guest appearance on the ITV'S GBBO Christmas specials.

Working closely with Vanessa, after she came to visit us in Highley (another nervewracking lunch prep) we have developed and launched the baking bell and tray for producing envy inducing and potentially addictive, loaves at home.  These are currently available here, with the bell also available on our website.  

A surreal highlight of the Ludlow Food Festival was seeing Val Stones and DJBBQ deep in conversation on our stand, discussing Appalachian cooking - you couldn't make it up!

We had our own in depth discussion with Val, and in accordance with her bakling criteria founded on years of experience, we produced the new heavy duty baking tray, seen here being tested out with Andrew Dargue's gypsy cream recipe (buy the book, it's a joy).

Inspired by conversations with chef and expedition leader Kieran Creevy, we also designed a set of removeable legs, both beautiful and functional, to turn our baking and griddle plates into outdoor cooking chapas.  

We have had great fun with these, especially at the Good Life Experience, where we kept the security crew fuelled with bacon butties, and have also combined the chapa with a baking bell for superb outdoor roast chicken.

No round up would be complete without a mention for our great friend, Chris Burt, whose own culinary journey has taken him on new adventures this year, with yet more to come in 2018.  Thanks, Chris, your contancy and love have meant much. 

The economic forecasts may be mixed and Brexit will continue to worry us.  However, we are determined to stick to our principles and continue to make sustainable products, firmly based in the buy well, buy once philosophy.  We are optimistic that Blue Planet 2, the superlative BBC show, fronted by Sir David Attenborough has raised public awareness of the dangers of the use and discarding of plastics and we are encouraged by the messages of support that we receive from private individuals, culinary world stars and our retailers.

It was a hard year for many of our independent retailers, but new ones joined us, some as late as mid December and we anticipate even more additions to our eclectic stockists list in the coming months. 

Please do your bit to support the independent retailers, whatever their core product category; we do not want to see our High Streets homogenised and the Amegazon juggernaut flattening all before it.

Keep an eye open for announcements about the festivals we will be attending and come and say "Hello" to us.

Our pans will be appearing in at least another 2 books, scheduled for publication in 2018, of which more anon, for now our lips are sealed.

And, at the very heart of Netherton Foundry HQ, our creative genius will continue as our inspiration, reinforcing our fundamental philosophy and coming up with exciting ideas and new products.

A massive "THANK YOU" to everyone who has supported, collaborated with, inspired, encouraged and endorsed us during the past year.

We wish you all a very Happy, Healthy, and Hopeful New Year.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2017 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk