Shrove Tuesday and Tradeshow Insights - Crepe Pan Offers and Art, Controversy & the Human Condition: Nick Cave’s Take
Andrew Bluett-Duncan
Director
This should be the briefest of brief emails from me this week. On Monday night Jeanne, Em and I drove up to Warwick to stay at the Warwick Arms Hotel, in preparation for our visit to the Indx Cookware trade show, in Solihull the next morning. We got to the show there just after 8.30am, and even at that hour it was already very busy. One of the first stands we came across was Joseph Joseph and Luke, our account manager, showed us a number of new lines. Picking just two, you can see Jeanne and Em already falling in love, not with the handsome fella on the right with humorous expression (sorry Luke), but with a nattily designed compact colander with very neat folding handles. Luke also showed us a really nice, and expensive, range of beautifully designed BBQ tools that are a decent length, but being telescopic are easily stored.
The next stand we came across was Kuhn Rikon, the Swiss manufacturer, and specifically Edward Margetts, their UK MD. For some years now, they’ve been building an ever-widening range of 5 ply stainless steel cookware, most of which comes without a coating (which is great news) although if you wish, they do produce the frying pans in nonstick as well. More of this range in the next few weeks.
Dexam (you might be aware of their Scion Fox range?) had some new Apron designs and Dayes a number of new lines, which I wasn’t privy to as I was deep in conversation with Andrew Green, whom I’ve known since his le Creuset days in the early 90’s. Whatever the qualities of these new lines, judging by the photo, Em, Jeanne & Jo Wheeler (our Dayes account manager) certainly look as though they were enjoying themselves.
Smeg, on the RKW (Smeg importer) stand had a gorgeous new colour just out, Storm Blue, and a rather smart new Espresso Maker with grinder built in. Hopefully we'll be stocking this in the next few weeks.
It’s a small exhibition, and by dint of missing lunch we were able to finish by midafternoon, retreat to the hotel to start assessing our finds, and divvy up the work between us.
Matthew Canwell of KitchenCraft (now owned by Lifetime Brands, of which he is International President…a very important person therefore!) joined us for dinner, and in the end insisted on paying, despite me suggesting it was our turn to treat him, so thanks Matthew, very generous of you. He drives around in a large electric 4wheel drive BMW, which I’d had a lift in towards the end of last year. It was more like an aircraft inside, than a car, but couldn’t quite match, my chum Nick Squire's X5 in the hideous looks department. In fact, it's quite large, so more the elegant swan to Nick's ugly duckling.
Why am I mentioning this, which obviously has very little or nothing to do with cookware? No good reason really. It just appeals to my immature sense of humour, and I nearly always get some response back from Nick, which keeps the channels of communication open. And, whilst it means our discount never increases, it’s never decreased either, which is just one of life’s mysteries. I think he must love me really …..
Anyway, the next morning we finished our sorting out of the previous day's work and, at Matthew's invitation, headed for KitchenCraft in time for coffee and cake* and to go round their enormous and very impressive showroom. Matthew had warned us the heating was on the blink, so, we went in well wrapped up and spent a very happy two and a half hours looking at new lines and revisiting old ones, finishing with a working lunch. All very civilised and some exciting new stuff identified. So, my thanks to Matthew, Laura his assistant, who seemed able to work the iPad better then him when prices were requested, and who kindly laid on lunch for us.
A lovely end to a very productive two days away.
*After my last visit I commented in that week's email, that I had had excellent treatment there but was surprised to be offered instant coffee to drink. Matthew had picked up on this from my newsletter, and promised to make sure the coffee machine was up and working. So, with my hopes of flogging them a Jura fading, I accepted an excellent cup from their fully operational machine.
One of the recurring touchstones on the culinary calendar is just around the corner.
I'm talking of course about Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day. Although Pancakes don't quite hold a place in my heart (or stomach) that a good slice of cake does, I am still rather partial to a well-made crepe.
So, until national Cake Day becomes a more established fixture, I'd like to help you make the most of this egg, flour and milk filled festival.
We've included here some recipes, if you are looking for inspiration on expanding your pancake repertoire.
To make all this happen, we've a variety of specialist pans, all of which will enable you to turn out fantastic pancakes on the big day. If you are working on a budget then the KitchenCraft Crepe Pan 24cm might suit you.
For those looking for a more serious long-term solution to your flipping needs, I can recommend the Green Pan Barcelona (24cm & 28cm) pancake pans and I'm offering 20% off these this weekend with code GreenPancake20.
For those of you with a little more to spend and would only trust your pancakes to the inventors of crepes themselves, then the Le Creuset TNS pancake pans come in 24cm or 28cm and are already sharply priced online to match our competitors.
And then of course, there is Dexam's oversized griddle, a whopping 34cm, if you've a larger appetite. This we have now online discounted from £96 to £62.40.
Well that wasn't as brief as I intended, but it was hastily assembled so please forgive the even greater rawness than is the norm…..
The last word
As you'll know if you've been reading my newsletter for some time, I love the way Nick Cave's mind is able to comprehend and unravel complex and thorny issues, and share his simultaneously reasoned, yet very human, thoughts on them with such elegant simplicity.
He doesn't separate the art from the artist, but he is able to accept the truth and beauty in mankind and separate it from the ugliness, even in the same person. On this topic, Nick's recent post is a masterclass in clear thought as he explains his response to Kanye West's detractors.
"I am reluctant to invalidate the best of us in an attempt to punish the worst. I don’t think we can afford that luxury."
© Nick Cave - The Red Hand Files (https://www.theredhandfiles.com/kanye-art-artist/)
I hope you have a pleasant and peaceful weekend.
Warm regards,
Andrew
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