Citrus and syrup soaked sponge

 A festive treat, aglow with citrus.  This is a light sponge, with oil and yogurt,rather than butter, gluten free and dripping with boozy, zesty orange syrup.

60g Greek yogurt
60ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
2 eggs, separated and whites whisked to stiff peaks

2 oranges, zest grated and juice, errr juiced!

120g sugar

60g ground almonds

60g rice flour

2 tblsp sugar

2 tblsp rum/Cointreau, liqueur of choice (optional)

Heat the oven to 180ºC

Grease a 9" savarin ring or an 8½" cake tin

Put the oil, yogurt, egg yolks, orange zest and 120g sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk together.

Fold in the flour and almonds, followed by the whisked egg whites.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch.

While the cake is baking, put the sugar into a saucepan and warm gently until golden brown. Carefully add the orange juice and keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved into the juice to form a thick syrup. Remove from the heat and add the booze.

Pour the syrup over the warm sponge and allow it to cool in the tin.

Carefully turn it out and serve with creme fraiche, clotted cream or ricotta, stirred through with candied peel.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

A corned beef pie

 Years ago I worked with a guy whose favourite sandwich was corned beef and pickled beetroot.  A dangerous choice when he wore a white shirt and fancy tie to work every day, but never once did I see him spill a drop of the purple juice.

And although I have no love of cold corned beef, the combination has stuck in my head and I have tried to recreate the flavours in a pie, where, to my mind, heat does such great favours to corned beef.

These quantities are for a 12" pie dish, which is a lot of pie - scale down if you are not feeding a crowd!

Shortcrust pastry made with 450g flour and 225g butter.
Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

Heat the oven to 200ºC

Grease a 12" pie dish 

1 onion, finely chopped
400g cooked potato, cubed

150g cooked beetroot, cubed (add more if you like and reduce the volume of potato)

2 pickled gherkins, finely chopped

600g corned beef, cubed

Mix all of the filling ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Roll out half of the pastry to fit the base of the pie dish, then pile the filling on top.

Roll out the rest of the pastry and use to cover the filling, crimping the edges to seal.

Brush generously with beaten egg yolk for a glossy, golden finish.

Pop it in the hot oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

A pear cake for Autumn

 Pears, a most perplexing and petulant fruit; one day they are hard enough to knock someone out at 100 paces, the next they are the fruit equivalent of a tumbling toddler - soft, squidgy, bruised and in need of immediate attention.

And so it was that the 2 pears that had been ripening gradually in our fruit bowl, suddenly accelerated towards fruit fly Heaven and were caught at the very last moment.

Too soft for poaching in red wine or lemon and cinnamon scented sryrup, too little space in the freezer for a granita, so they headed into a cake.  And, quite frankly, I think this is the best cake of 2020, so far.

120g butter

120g soft brown sugar

90g marmalade - I uised home made, but if you don't have homemade, try to use one that is not overly sweet.

2 eggs

120g self raising flour

4 tsp of ground ginger (more or less to taste)

2 large ripe pears, cored and chopped (no need to peel, although you can if you wish.  Mine were beyond the point at which peeling was an option)

Heat the oven to 170ºC and grease a 1lb loaf tin

Beat together the butter, sugar and marmalade until very light, then add the eggs and beat again, as hard as you like.

Fold in the flour and ginger and finally, the chopped pears.

Spoon the mix into the loaf tin and bake for around 40 minutes, until a skewer poked into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

If the top of the cake is browning too quickly, cover with a piece of foil, baking parchment or a discarded butter wrapper.

Leave aside until the tin is cool enough to handle without an oven glove and then turn the cake out onto a cooling rack.

When cool, dust with icing sugar and tuck in.

Whilst nice on its own, I reckon this would also make a good dessert with ice cream, whipped cream or yogurt.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Blueberry, lime and coconut cake

Something sweet, but not too sweet, and simple for an afternoon tea or dolloped with a little creme fraiche for dessert.
There is nothing complicated about this cake, just a variation on a classic sponge mix, combining some of our favourite flavours and using a bargain punnet of blueberries from the reduced section in the supermarket.

120g butter
60g sugar
2 eggs
60g coconut flour
100g plain yogurt
100g self raising flour
grated zest and juice of a lime
170g blueberries
2 tsp sugar

Heat the oven to 170ºC and grease an 8½" cake tin

Beat the butter and sugar until soft and pale in colour, then whip in the yogury, mixing until it is all well combined.  Mix in the coconut flour and the lime zest.
Add the eggs and beat well.
Fold in the flour and 100g of blueberries and spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin.
Bake for 25 minutes until it passes the skewer test.

Meanwhile place the remaining blueberries into a small saucepan (a copper saucepan is not esssential, but it is deal for this) with approx 20ml wateer nad the sugar.  Heat gently until the blueberries soften and start to bleed juice into the water and the sugar dissolves.  REmove from theh eat ad add the lime juice.
Taste, you want these to be on the sour side to contrast with the sweet cake.
Take the cooked cake out of the oven and spoon over the cooked blueberries with all the juice.
Leave the cake to cool and absorb all of the juice before carefully turning out on to a serving plate.
Serve with a cup of tea or a glass of fizz.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Apricot custard flan

Who remembers holidays, travel, being elsewhere, being carefree?
Whilst we are returning to some kind of normal, some of the things we used to take for granted are not going to be back on the agenda for a while.
And whilst we DID take our holiday travels for granted, we do acknowledge that this is a privilege and one that not everyone shares.

One of my most potent memories is of a hotel in Saas-Fé in Switzerland, sadly no longer family owned, where we enjoyed fresh apricot jam for breakfast each morning.  Small batches were made on an almost daily basis, and wherever we roamed in the region there were roadside stalls selling punnets of sunset coloured fruit.
Apricots are one of our favourite fruits, but they need a bit of coaxing to bring out their best, a bit of heat and they sing, when they are so often a woolly, dry disappointment eaten raw.

Memories were evoked and imagination stirred when I picked up a couple of punnets from our local farm shop and this custard flan was demolished in a flash.

20 apricots (plums would work well too)
2 lavender heads (optional)
Sugar to taste (we used 40g)

1 egg
60g butter
60g sugar
60g self raising flour

30g cornflour
45g sugar
350ml full fat milk
50 ml double cream
2 egg yolks

Start by cooking the apricots; halve and stone them and put them in a single layer, if possible,in an ovenproof dish (I used a prospector pan). Sprinkle over the sugar and finely chopped lavender heads.  Bake in a moderate oven, around 180ºC for about 20 minutes, until soft, but still just about holding their shape - think tipsy, but still able to stand :-)

Once they are in the oven, make the cake base.  Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then incorporate the egg and beat again.  Fold in the flour and spread the mix into a cake tin (Our cake tin has a diameter of 8½" or 22cm).  Pop into the oven with the apricots nad cook for 15 minutes.

Now tackle the custard layer.
Place most of the milk and the cream into a saucepan, extravanagant, I know, but our copper pans are wonderful for custard making and heat gently to just boiling.
Mix the cornflour and sugar t a paste with the rest of the milk.  Pour the hot milk over the cornflour slurry and mix thoroughly.  Returnto the pan and cook until the sauce is nice and thick. Lower the heat and add the beaten egg yolks, stirring vigourously.
Remove from the heat and transfer the custard to a jug or bowl to cool.
Spread the cooled custard over the sponge base - it should be thick enough to uphold the fruit - the ncarefully arrange the apricot halves over the top.
Chill for a couple of hours, but remove from the fridge about half an hour before serving.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Toffee and dried fruit custard tart

Baking in lockdown has been a challenge and a balm; ingredients have not always been readily available, but the joy of immersing oneself in the tactile joy of making pastry, the olfactory bliss of toffee and the sheer concentration in note taking, blocking out interference in the brain from the clamour of coronavirus news is unrivalled.
It has also been a time for seeing what we have in the cupboard and working out ways to use up stored ingredients.
This is an elaboration, a variation, dare I say, an improvement of a recipe my mother used to make when I was a child.  It is, without a shadow of a doubt, an indulgence, but it is easy to make and right now, we all deserve a treat.

Pastry
150g plain flour
60g cold butter, cubed
Cold water

Filling
30g butter
120g brown sugar
2 eggs
200ml double cream
120g dried fruit*

Preheat the oven to 175ºC

Make the pastry; rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Bind together with just enough water to make a stiff dough.
Roll out on a floured board to fit either a 10" prospector pan, which is all I had to hand in lockdown, or a 10" pie dish, I should be getting one of these back in the Netherton kitchen any day now.  
Place in the fridge while you make the filling.


* I keep a jam jar full of dried fruit; raisins, currants, sultanas, dried citrus peel, soaking in sherry in the cupboard and used some of these for this dish, but booze free fruit is quite acceptable.

Put the butter into a saucepan (our copper pans are perfect for this) or a milk pan and melt over a gentle heat.  Stir in the brown sugar and the fruit.  Beat the eggs and cream together and add to the fruit mix.  Pour all of this into the pastry case and pop it into the oven.
Cook for 30 minutes until the filling has just set - a little wibble is a good thing, it will firm up as it cools.

Cool and serve in small slices; it is pretty rich and you can easily get 8-10 slices from this size of pie.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Corona conversations

With the shops re-opening and 91 days of corona conversations recorded, we have decided it is time to halt the daily updates.
From no until "normality" resumes, we will be posting regular, but no longer daily, reports on our Facebook page


DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC WE ARE KEEPING A DAILY DIARY OVER ON OUR WEBSITE.

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR CORONA CONVERSATIONS FOR FUN FACTS, PRETTY PICTURES, NEWS AND VIEWS, HEROES AND VILLAINS.

STAY SAFE, KEEP WELL, 

MIND THE GAP!

Old Mother Hubbard

I started to write this before the lockdown, before the pandemic, the panic buying, the upsurge of home bakers and new home cooks, clearing the shelves, invading the internet, sweeping the supermarkets more effectively than Rylan has ever witnessed.  Some of the shopping and cooking dynamics have changed, society has changed, daily life has changed; for good, for bad, forever? Who knows? 
But even so, most of this still applies, so in many ways, life goes on as normal and we have to cling to familiarity where we can.

Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard was notable for being bare.  For most of us, this is not something we have to face, but for those on low incomes, living in poverty, it is a daily reality.
Food banks offer temporary respite, but it is shameful that in a country comfortably within the world's top ten economies that there should be a need for these.
It should be the right of everyone to eat well; food should be more than staving off hunger, it should nourish the soul as well as the body.  Jack Monroe, who has experienced poverty and hunger, has written some stunning books which set a new benchmark for the "cooking on a budget" theme.  There is no pride in poverty, but there ought to be dignity.

If you have enough to eat, be grateful, be generous, challenge and question those in power.  The Trussell Trust website will point you in the right direction.

But for the rest of us, the notion of having nothing to eat is the culinary equivalent to claiming we have nothing to wear; standing in front of the kitchen cupboards is like facing the black hole, rimmed with indecision and a complete lack of initiative and imagination, that sits between you and the overstuffed wardrobe.

What we really mean is that our minds cannot translate the shelves of ingredients into the coherence of a meal.  Personally, I love the challenge of a fridge forage and a pantry purge, scooping up anything to hand and creating something from a seemingly disparate and desperate collection of bits and bobs.  Even so, "wait and see", is a handy answer when the reaction to a casual enquiry about the day's dinner results in brain freezing panic.

Perhaps the prevalence of these culinary mental blocks one of the reasons why Ready Steady Cook is so popular. So popular, in fact, that it returned to our screens recently, fronted by the irrespressible Rylan Clark-Neal, two mentions in one post! - with new chefs, including our friend Romy Gill.  

And another source of inspiration is Nigel Slater  - in particular we love his Greenfeast books, which list the recipes by no more than 3 principal ingredients.

  

And if you are struggling with what you have in the cupboard, you can head over to Gemma Wade on Instagram who is full of ideas and advice.

Or write to us at sales@nethgerton-foundry.co.uk and we will see what we can come up with.

Stay safe, keep well, stay positive.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

SY23 - a restaurant in Aberystwyth

It was quite a journey to get there, even more of a journey home through sleet, hail and snow, across the Welsh hills to avoid the floods in the valleys below.
But it was well worth it to be the first to talk about SY23; named after Aberystwyth's post code and home of Nathan Davies' new restaurant, which opened just over 2 months ago.

And whilst I refuse to use the word journey in anything other than a travelling context, this has been quite an experience for Nathan too.  After 4 years of working at the acclaimed, Michelin starred restaurant Ynyshir, under the tour de force that is Gareth Ward and surviving the razor sharp scrutiny of Grace Dent, he has moved down the road and stepped up to the challenge of running his own place.

A big jump into a small place, but a place that can genuinely be described as having Nathan's DNA all over it.
SY23 is small, but, as the saying goes, perfectly formed; a cosy downstairs bar, the dark blue paint creating an intimate atmosphere, redolent of a prohibition speakeasy, but with the class and styling of velvet chairs, highly polished, dark wood tables and fresh flowers, leads out to a twisting staircase, illuminated by the sexiest of chandeliers to a dining space made by Nathan, with a little help from his friends.
And when I say "made", I do mean "made", not feng shui'd from purchased parts!
As Nathan himself said, "lots of people open restaurants, I built mine".

Take a closer look at the open cooking area, everything is on view, where you can see your meal being cooked.  All of that open fire set up was made, from scratch, by Nathan; in his words, he is better than the average welder.

Two of the tabletops have been converted by one of his friends, from the seasoned wood of a fallen oak, the hollow centre artfully filled with resin.  As ever, it's not what you know, but who you know; in this case it happens to be Steve McFall, aka Bespoke Mcbloke. These fabulous pieces of timber are supported on metal legs made by, guess who, yes, that man Nathan.  The rest of the tables are made from reclaimed wood atop Nathan's legs, so to speak, and will eventually be replaced by more bespoke tops.

Look even closer at that open cooking area and last week you would have seen that he is running a restaurant, with 24 covers, with only 2 frying pans and had you looked closer you would have seen that they are both  Netherton Foundry frying pans.  His stock has now increased by 50% with the addition of one of our prospector pans!  Just goes to show that it's all about having just the right amount of exactly the right kit.

The money saved by making his own fire pit and tables meant that he was able to buy seriously comfy chairs.  That may sound like a no-brainer, but how often have you fidgetted through dinner on a hard chair or read Jay Rayner or his readers complaining about the seating and how it detracted from the food? 

Seats are important, this is what Mr Rayner he wrote in one review, where thankfully his nether regions were as well catered for as his stomach.  

"The seats are comfortable. Going from some of the comments online on these reviews, that is a matter of serious concern to a certain portion of the readership."

And this is all part of the restaurant's core ethos - to give people a good night out.  Truly great wines are offered at accessible prices; this is by no means a cheap restaurant, but it does offer true value for the money you pay.  At the time of writing the set menu of seven perfectly judged courses  is priced at £48.  Don't write to us, shout at the restaurant or whine on review sites and social media if that's not the price when you visit.  

The menu has been conceived to give you a great dinner, with the price reflecting the quality of the ingredients and the cooking.  
The wines have been priced competitively, so that your drinks bill doesn't leave a nasty taste in your mouth.

And let's talk about the food.
Over the course of an entertaining conversation, we learned that the only thing Nathan doesn't enjoy is raw oysters; it used to be all raw fish, but he is coming round to some of it, just not the oysters - cook them first!  
But fish has paid a large part in his life, with fond memories of a teenage life lived on the coast, with access to a small boat and fishing lines, he spent many an hour out on the water bringing home a catch.  And now he buys his fish direct from the boats.  If they haven't got what he'd planned to cook, he will change the menu, rather than buy elsewhere.

He can still recall, I don't know why I say still, he's not that old even now, the first meal he cooked.  As a teenager he served his family fresh tomato soup with pesto, a boiled ham with vegetables and a chocolate tart, recipe from Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef, which despite his conviction of having followed the recipe exactly, didn't set.    
As an aside, Jamie Oliver was "discovered" when working at the River Cafe in London and it is rumoured that no-one has ever managed to make their Chocolate Nemesis recipe successfully - perhaps there is a link.

Nathan is trying to source all the ingredients as locally as possible; he makes bread from wheat grown and milled down the road, has a number of local, organic fruit and veg suppliers, is working on dairy supplies, Wales is better known for its sheep than its cows, and relationships are being forged with local farmers and butchers for high quality meat.
Then, of course, there is the abundance of food to be foraged from forest, field and hedgerow.  Birch trees are tapped for birch water, which will be simmered down to create birch syrup; a complex, rich almost curranty taste, which we got to sample neat. Soon the wild garlic will be harvested and pickled, fermented and added to oil.  It will be a full year of seasons and harvests before Nathan has accumulated the larder filled with the jars that he wants to enhance his dishes.  These are not things you can ring up the wholesaler and order on a next day delivery.  Time is the key ingredient here.

The menus are changed every two weeks and are not advertised on line.  It is a set menu, although with advance notice, they can take dietary restrictions into account.  Learning from Gareth, and confident in his ability to create delicious food, Nathan presents a succession of dishes designed to fit together like a jigsaw, so that when the last piece is finally in place, there is a feeling of satisfaction.  If you start tinkering withe the pieces, the picture is going to be skewed. 

If you got to SY23, and we think you should, let us know what you think.  If you send us a review, we may even publish it!

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

How much? A reflection on the real price of things

How much? I could make that for a fraction of the cost.  How often have we heard that?  Too often, I'm afraid.
As Oscar Wilde said "a cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing" words worth reflecting on.

A desire for more stuff for less money means we have lost sight of what is involved in the creation of that which we desire.
Instant gratification and a seemingly limitless and ever changing supply of fashion, food, frivolities and fripperies in the shape of delivered food, Amegazon prime and the like and we can forget that someone, somewhere had to source the materials, turn them into the object of your longing and then deliver it to your door.  A fleeting pleasure, something in the moment, but quickly forgotten or discarded.
We love this interview with Vivienne Westwood, whose plan to save the world may need more work, but we cannot argue with this:

“We need to get back to having fewer things, and treasuring what we have.  We already have enough clothes in the western world to last us for hundreds of years.” Westwood company policy is to downsize production – all collections are now 50% smaller than three years ago – and sell at a price point that encourages Westwood’s mantra of choose well, buy less, make it last.

My heart goes out to chefs who hear this all the time, with the constant tinnitus buzz of price whinges on Tripadvisor.
This is a list of the things that really annoy chefs, including Mary Ellen Mctague's "accusations of profiteering" and Si Toft on "TripAdvisor bullies". 

Consider this and then ask yourself if you really could have "done this better and cheaper yourself."

• Did you spend time at catering college and learning the ropes in low paid restaurant jobs to learn about food hygiene, food storage, purchasing and pricing, staffing and food preparation.
• Have you factored in your mortgage/rent and rates?  The electricity? The phone bill? What about insurance?
• Did you pay yourself when you prepared the meal?  Did you pay someone to serve it, wash up after you, answer the phone to take your table reservation, do your accounts?
• And if so, did you then pay their NI?  And then there is the commission that the credit card companies take on every transaction.
• Have you amortised the cost of the table you placed the food on, the chair you sat on, the crockery, cutlery, napery?  And the pans, knives, bottle opener, can opener, wooden spoon.....
• Have you accounted for the hot water, washing up liquid, tea towels and dishcloths - or the cost of loading and running the dishwasher?
• Don't forget the laundry bill, the loo rolls and the soap, the cleaner
• Is there a publicity budget, allowing you to advertise?
• Have you worked put what your profit margin needs to be so that there is money to pay for replacement crockery when a plate gets broken, new cruets when someone steals the last salt cellar - yes that really is a thing, redecorating once in a while.
• Have you put in at least 12 hours a day all week?
• Did you lie awake last night wondering whether that no-show of a table of six can be covered by a couple of extra walk ins tomorrow lunchtime?  How much longer is left on the lease?  Is the landlord going to increase the rent?  And where are you going to find a replacement for the waiting staff who has moved on.  

The same principles apply to our cookware.  Yes, you can buy something far cheaper, you can have it delivered virtually before you even knew you wanted it and yes, you will probably throw it away in less than a couple of years.
That's fine if that's all you can afford, and that is the reality for too many people.
It's not so fine if you take into account the disquieting factors behind the supply of cheap goods. Product miles, disposal of unwanted goods, single use of resources, working conditions of producers and providers, tax avoidance..............

When you buy something from us we will source all our components as locally as possible;we know our suppliers by their first names; we can tell you which of our ironmasters contributed which operation and skill to your product; we will wrap it in recycled and recyclable packaging; we will use recyclable and natural materials to make your cookware; you will be able to re-season and repair your cookware should the need arise; we won't come out with a new range every year, rendering last year's purchase obsolete or outdated; a real person will answer the phone and then answer your questions and we will pay our taxes.

So yes, our cookware may be a bit more expensive than some; you may have to wait longer than 24 hours for your hand made pan to arrive; but it will bring you joy; it will have provided jobs to a rural community; it will have been made with skill, but also with love and pride and when you work out the price per use, you will realise that it is not so expensive after all.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

New shape, new recipe - loaf tin cake

You may have noticed that we have changed the shape of our 1lb (½kg) and 2lb (1kg) loaf tins.
This is response to a number of requests from people who love the characteristics and performance of the tins, but who wanted the shape to be more like a sandwich loaf.
So we obliged.  In every respect, other than the squarer shape, these are just the same as the old ones.  So, the same made to last appeal, natural non stick properties, heavy black iron material for great cooking characteristics and wonderful crusts; just as useful, equally beautiful.

And to prove the point, here is a recipe cooked in the new 1lb loaf tin

120g butter
50g sugar
50g lime marmalade*
2 eggs
50g dried cranberries
120g self raising flour.

80g icing sugar
Juice of half a lemon

* I used home made lime marmalade, which is what you would describe as "soft set".  If you use a well known brand such as Roses, which has a much firmer set, then I would advise adding the juice of a lime or a couple of tablespoons of milk to the mix to loosen it a little.

Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC and lightly grease your loaf tin.  This would also work in our cake tin, but you may need to reduce the cooking time. 

Cream the butter, sugar and marmalade together until well blended and light in colour.  Beat in the eggs.

Fold in the flour and the cranberries and spoon the mixture into the greased loaf tin.

Bake for 30 minutes and check that it passes the skewer test.  If the top is browning too quickly, cover lightly with foil or a used butter wrapper.

Leave in the tin for around 10 minutes and then turn out on to a cooling rack.

Put the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually add the lemon juice until you have a thick icing.  Drizzle artistically over the top of the cake. 

Pop the kettle on and make a cup of tea, to be enjoyed with a thick slice of cake.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Sausage Roll Off 2020

At the Red Lion, Barnes

Last night was the 8th annual Great Sausage Roll Off, organised by pub managers Angus McKean and Claire Morgan, and we were proud to be sponsors for the third year running.

First, what is it all about?  Well, at it's most basic, it's a competition in a London pub, to see which chef can make the best sausage roll.  The judges, each with an iron constitution, taste their way through the entries and a prize is awarded at the end.  Along the way, money is raised for charity.  
And that sums it up, but barely scratches the surface of what this is really all about.  
These are not next level sausage rolls, these are top floor, roof garden, let's build another level sausage rolls. 
These are not just any judges, these are the great and the good of the hospitality industry.
This is not just a raffle for a box of chocolates and a bottle of dodgy wine; this is a silent auction for dinners, overnight stays, champagne afternoon tea, stellar ice cream, butchery classes and more besides

Oh what a night!  

19 entries of outstanding sausage rolls, 4 judges, with a total of 4 Michelin stars between them, 3 fabulous prizes, one cat herder - her words, not ours!, compere Melissa Cole and one charity, which has literally saved the lives of people working in the catering industry; Hospitality Action.

Let me introduce you to this year's judging panel:
Lucy Horobin: Lucy is a Sony Award nominated broadcaster, and presents the Getting You Home show and Saturday Breakfast with JK on Heart London and Heart Extra, and by her own admission, a sausage roll junkie.  Whereas many would quail at the prospect of working their way through 19 sausage rolls in one sitting, Lucy positively relished the challenge.

Paul Cunningham: Hailing from Essex, but now running the stunning restaurant with rooms, Henne Kirkeby Kro, with 2 Michelin stars to his name, Paul took time out from his visit back to England to sit on the judges' panel.

Russell Bateman: A chef with an amazing CV, now at Pétrus, with a Michelin star to his name.
Paul Foster: Having travelled the world, Paul has returned to his Warwickshire roots, and runs his own restaurant, Salt in Stratford on Avon and travelled down to London to take part in this year's judging panel.

And further to emphasise the prestige of this event, just look at the contestants, who came from the North - Liverpool, Oldham; the West - Corsham, Bridgwater; the South - Padstow, Plymouth; the East - Norfolk, Canterbury and the capital - London. 

Amber Southon, the Quarryman's Arms.  Amber came second and took home a pile of specially commissioned Netherton cookware, which included an 8" frying pan, 12" frying pan and heavy duty baking sheet, so she can practice for next year.

Phil Harrison, Bears Ice Cream company, who came third last year. He has yet to produce a sausage roll flavoured ice cream, but he did incorporate flavourings from our favourite spice man, Mr Wolf, this year.

Iain Devine & Alan Paton, hailing from Manchester and East Anglia, thus covering two points of the compass, this pair were thrilled to be awarded third place this year, although I am not sure how they are going to share the prize of a Rational knife roll across their geographic divide.

Danny Kingston; a most entertaining chap, who normally sits on the press table, but took the plunge and offered up his rolls for judgely scrutiny this year.

Robert Taylor, the Compasses Inn, listed in the top 50 Gastropubs for the past 4 years and with a Michelin Bib Gourmand award too.

Davin Browning, head chef at The Apron restaurant, Theatre Royal, Plymouth.  Davin was perhaps even more disappointed than the rest of us that Simon Rimmer was unable to take his place at the judges' bench again this year, following an operation earlier in the week.
We wish Simon a speedy recovery.

Maurizio Pellegrini, the Italian Club, Liverpool, as you would,  expect combining the best of British with tastes of Italy

Ben Handley, chef patron of the Duck Inn, ruffling feathers with a quail sausage egg.

Matt Colk, The Gun Docklands more feathers flying, as Matt produced a chicken Caesar salad roll.

Majella O'Connell, aka Pavlova and Cream, a food photographer, not a chef!  And whilst you may think it is brave of her to mix it with the professionals, bear in mind that Majella was coached by none other than Daniel Clifford.

Alan Chilton, Bower Inn Bridgwater, whose sausage roll comprising Old English pork, flavoured with cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, caraway, chilli and garlic took first prize.  Alan was awarded with a stunning roll of I.O.Shen knives, all etched with the event logo.

And we have to add that is was lovely to catch up with I.O.Shen's dream team Natalie and Josh, whom we haven't seen since Meatopia last year!

Anton Manganaro, from BAFTA, who used pork from the inspirational pig farmer, Martha Roberts

Adrian Oliver, who works at Padstow Harbour Hotel had an eventful time last year, when he won first prize for his sausage roll and then got hit by bad weather on the way home and had to spend the night in a snowbound service station.  Sadly, he didn't win this year, but hopefully the journey back was less eventful.

Alec Tomasso, ex Masterchef contestant and aka The Weeping Chef is now a Roll Off regular and we hope to see him taking part again next year.

James Taylor travelled down from the Bulls Head, Heyside, Oldham to take part, showcasing a pork sausage roll with caramelised pineapple.

Adam Lestrelle didn't have quite so far to travel, popping down to the Red Lion from The Roehampton Club 

David Steele of Bartlett Mitchell, may not have won, but we think that a sausage roll made from pork, smoked chicken, pistachio and apricot served with a burnt apple purée and London Pride dill  pickles deserves a very special mention.  You had us at dill pickles!

Finally, it was the turn of Charlie Hodson, chef, roll off stalwart and ambassador for Hospitality Action.  Charlie has more reasons than many to advocate the services offered Hospitality Action and bravely spoke out last night about his own mental health problems, praising the charity for the, quite literally, life saving support it had offered him.  His entry, called Saving Grace, may not have won the competition, but his speech won everyone's hearts.
Charlie, we love you and hope your feet are treading a steady path this coming year.

The hospitality industry, whilst exciting, vibrant and full of opportunities, can also be a brutal, challenging and harsh working environment.  Hospitality Action is there to support those who need it and we were proud to lend our support to them.

Cat herder in chief, the indomitable Melissa Cole compered the evening brilliantly, keeping so many chefs in line in a pub is not a job for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach.  Channeling her inner Queen Elizabeth I, she kept them all, more or less under control, with no cheffish rivalries getting out of hand and no sabotage detected!

At the end of the proceedings, Melissa announced that a grand total of £3537 had been raised for Hospitality Action and that is surely an achievement worth raising a glass to.

Roll on #rolloff 2021

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www.netherton-foundry.co.uk