The Forge Kitchen cookbook

The Forge Kitchen cookbook by Alex Pole and Pooch Horsburgh (£25)

The Forge Kitchen Cookbook
Alex Pole, £25

The Forge Kitchen is a collaboration between Alex Pole and co-author Pooch Horsburgh and 21 chefs including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Gill Meller, Anja Dunk, Valentine Warner and Olia Hercules. Each of The Forge chefs has taken their inspiration from cookware made in the fires of Alex Pole’s Somerset forge. The pans we cook in, the utensils we serve with, and the cutlery we use, are as important to any meal as the ingredients, it’s all part of the flavour, and the pleasure of cooking.

Blacksmiths have been forging iron for many thousands of years and a staple of their craft has been the production of kitchenware and cooking implements. The hearth has always been the centre of family life - providing both warmth and sustenance by means of a heat source - and that is still the case today. In fact, it seems to be becoming more and more popular to cook on an open fire, either indoors or out, and the best way to do this is by using iron utensils.

The Forge Kitchen fuses traditionally made kitchenware with contemporary chefs and the very best ingredients to create a unique set of ingredients. Recipes include scallops with brown shrimp and sorrel butter by Olia Hercules; hogget with salsa verde by Gill Meller; chilli squid with ginger, basil yoghurt and sweetcorn chutney by Nathan Outlaw; beetroot tatin with roasted garlic, thyme and goat’s cheese; and piperade with baked eggs and crispy pancetta by Thomasina Miers.

“The Forge Kitchen celebrates the vital energy between great kitchen tools, great ingredients and great cooking - and the results are beautiful, satisfying and delicious.” Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, River Cottage

The Forge Kitchen is £25 and is available from the online shop on www.alexpoleironwork.

Alex Pole Ironwork at The Forge

Alex Pole Ironwork kitchenware

The Forge Kitchenware

Alex Pole is a British blacksmith making traditionally hand-forged kitchenware and cooking utensils, made in the fires of his Somerset workshop. Forging is the ancient art of shaping metal by heating it in a fire and hammering. It is an art that is full of tradition and folklore but with many modern applications.

Alex has been working as a blacksmith for over 25 years and founded The Forge Kitchenware in 2015. He makes pieces for home kitchens, outdoor cooking and bespoke pieces for cooks, chefs and restaurants including Nathan Outlaw, Christian Stevenson aka DJ BBQ, Gill Meller, Mark Hix and Thomasina Miers. Each piece is individually forged, using local materials, wherever possible, by a small team of skilled craftsmen dedicated to producing the highest quality work. One of Alex’s primary aims is to promote blacksmithing, and the makers movement, across the UK and to show its relevance in the 21st century.

Every piece of Forge Kitchenware, be it a skillet, knife, coffee scoop or an axe, starts as a simple bar of steel, which is heated ad repeatedly hit on the anvil until it is the correct size, shape and style. Heat, strike, repeat! The Forge Kitchenware takes the everyday and redefines it to create beautiful and tactical, yet wholly functional, pieces of work. Each piece is designed with simple form, clean lines and functionality and are made to last a lifetime.

Blacksmith courses and Forge and Feast events will resume in 2021.

Alex Pole is founder of The Forge Kitchenware.

Day to day, Alex’s main role is designing new products, often assisted by the whole team and developing the Forge Kitchenware brand.

“I have always had a fascination with metals for as long as I can remember. From sitting with my mum watching her make jewellery as a four-year-old to casting lead soldiers in my pre-teens, it feels like I've always been drawn to this material.

I started back in 1991 with attendance to art college to first study jewellery making, then architectural ironwork. After that came the wandering years - filled with travel, training, exploration, experimentation and a beer or two.

In 2013 I travelled to Sweden to attend a course at Gransfors Bruks, the world renowned axe making centre, and discovered a great love of tool making.  From then on I moved my work in a new direction - this included knife and axe making, as well as developing a wide range of kitchenware. Blacksmithing is not just a craft to me , but a way of life, and one that gives great satisfaction not only to me but, I hope, others as well.”