Monthly Archives: April 2026

20/04/2026 · 7:40 am

Spun Iron Cookware with Netherton Foundry

Today, we are going on an excursion to the Netherton Foundry workshop, nestled in the Shropshire countryside, to find out about spun iron cookware – something that was essentially extinct in this country until owners Neil and Sue Currie brought it back.

Neil and Sue are very kindly sponsoring season 10 of The British Food History Podcast makers of high-quality kitchen and outdoor cookware. Netherton Foundry ships to several countries outside of the UK, including the USA and Canada. Visit www.netherton-foundry.co.uk to find out more about their wonderful products – approved not just by me but by folk such as Tom Parker-Bowles, Diana Henry and Nigella Lawson.

We talk about designing the original range (and how the range increased), celebrity requests, why spun iron cookware lost out to aluminium cookware, croustade irons, and how Netherton Foundry cookware brings some extra authenticity to historical foods cooked at home, amongst many other things.

The British Food History Podcast is available on all podcast apps. If you are not a podcast sort of person, you can also watch it on my YouTube channel, or stream it via this Spotify embed:

From left to right: recording with Ryan; with Toby and the pan kindly gifted to me!; in the finishing room

Those listening to the secret podcast will hear about the pros and cons of working with copper, how Netherton Foundry go about seeking out their vintage machinery, how their stockpots came to be, their outdoor range, plus more.

Netherton Foundry website

Follow Netherton Foundry on social media: Insta/threads @nethertonfoundry; BlueSky @nethertonfoundry.bsky.social; Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NethertonFoundry

Neil models the flambadou, and Sue shows the bespoke frying pan I was gifted (Sam & Sam of A is for Apple will be jealous!)

If you can, support the podcast and blogs by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, including bonus blog posts and recipes, access to the easter eggs and the secret podcast, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.

This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.

Making spun iron cookware was a forgotten trade – not now though!

Things mentioned in today’s episode

NF Bread Pan with Cloche

NF Prospector Pans

NF Chef’s Pans

Val Stones’ Baking Sheet

NF Croustade Irons

NF Flambadou

NF Outdoor Cookery Range

Video: spinning iron

Video: Sue using the croustade iron

Mana Restaurant

From the Oven to the Table by Diana Henry

Repast (and the tiffin tin) by Jenny Linford

Previous pertinent blog posts

Toad-in-the-hole

Yorkshire Curd Tart

Four Scone Recipes

Neil’s blogs and YouTube channel

‘British Food: a History’

The British Food History Channel

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

Neil’s books

Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

A Dark History of Sugar

Knead to Know: a History of Baking

The Philosophy of Puddings

Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email me at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or leave a comment.

Traditional Foods of Derbyshire with Mark Dawson

My guest on The British Food History Podcast today is Mark Dawson, a food historian specialising in the food and social history of the early modern period, but also on the regional food of the Midlands. Today we are talking about the traditional food and drink of his home county of Derbyshire.

You may remember he was on last season talking about Derbyshire Oatcakes, well, since then he has written a fantastic book called Lumpy Tums: Derbyshire’s Food & Drink published by Amberley and out in the wild from the 15th April 2026.

We talk about oat-based foods like thar cakes, which were traditionally eaten on All Souls Day, thin pudding and savoury pudding, the origins of the Bakewell pudding and Derbyshire’s very high proportion of drinking establishments per head, amongst many other things. The British Food History Podcast is available on all apps, or, if you like, you can stream it via this Spotify embed:

Those listening to the secret podcast get more than a quarter of an hour of bonus material where we talk about Derbyshire cheeses, the return of small-scale breweries to the county, wakes cakes and Ashbourne gingerbread.

Mark’s book is published on 15 April 2026.

Lumpy Tums: Derbyshire’s Food & Drink by Mark Dawson and published by Amberley

Mark’s website

Mark’s Speakernet profile

Follow Mark on Instagram @lumpytums

Season 10 of the podcast is sponsored by Netherton Foundry, who make high-quality kitchen and outdoor cookware. Netherton Foundry ships to several countries outside of the UK, including the USA and Canada. Visit www.netherton-foundry.co.uk to find out more about their wonderful products – approved not just by me but by folk such as Tom Parker-Bowles, Diana Henry and Nigella Lawson.

This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.

I have recipes for both Bakewell tart and Bakewell pudding – see below for links

Things mentioned in today’s episode

County Recipes of Old England by Helen Edden (2008)

Good Things in England by Florence White (1932)

Tindall’s of Tideswell – purveyors of Thar Cakes

The English Alehouse by Peter Clarke (1983)

Bakewell Pudding Shop

Knead to Know: A History of Baking by Neil Buttery (2024)

The Rutland Arms

Ivan Day’s blog post about the Bakewell pudding

Vegetable Cookery by Martha Brotherton (1833): the page with the potato Bakewell pudding!

Anne Lister of Shibden Hall

Betty’s Vintage Tea Rooms

Previous pertinent blog posts

To Make a Bakewell Pudding

To Make a Bakewell Tart

Yorkshire Parkin

Dock Pudding

#321 Sweetmeat Cake

Previous pertinent podcast episodes

Derbyshire Oatcakes with Mark Dawson

Traditional Food of Lincolnshire with Rachel Green

Gingerbread with Sam Bilton

Ormskirk Gingerbread with Anouska Lewis

Neil’s blogs and YouTube channel

‘British Food: a History’

The British Food History Channel

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

Neil’s books

Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

A Dark History of Sugar

Knead to Know: a History of Baking

The Philosophy of Puddings

Healthy Eating in the Middle Ages with Katherine Harvey

Welcome to a brand new season of The British Food History Podcast!

On the podcast today is medieval scholar Katherine Harvey, a scholar specialising in medieval and early modern history.

Kathryn’s new book The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living is out now, published by Reaktion Books.

We talk about humoral theory and health, the dangers of eating fresh fruit and fish, the importance of sauces, drinking and drunkenness, how obesity was viewed by medieval society and the importance of cleanliness amongst many other things.

The British Food History Podcast is available on all podcast apps. Alternatively, you can stream it via this Spotify embed:

Those listening to the secret podcast get bonus material where we talk about the importance of mealtimes when thinking about health, and the poorer members of society who don’t necessarily have much of a choice when it comes to healthy eating.

The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living by Katherine Harvey

The Fires of Lust: Sex in the Middle Ages by Katherine Harvey

Katherine’s website

Follow Katherine on social media: Instagram @katherinee.harvey; X @keharvey2013; Bluesky @katherineharvey.bsky.social

Season 10 of the podcast is sponsored by Netherton Foundry, who make high-quality kitchen and outdoor cookware. Netherton Foundry ships to several countries outside of the UK, including the USA and Canada. Visit www.netherton-foundry.co.uk to find out more about their wonderful products – approved not just by me but by folk such as Tom Parker-Bowles, Diana Henry and Nigella Lawson.