Meet the Exclusive Netherton Foundry x Borough Kitchen Spun Iron Frying Pan

What Makes the Netherton Foundry x Borough Kitchen Pan Different?

• Just-Thick-Enough 2.5mm Base: Standard spun iron pans are 2mm, standard cast iron pans are 3-4mm, and standard carbon steel pans are between 2.5-3mm. We opted for 2.5mm of high-quality iron, which strikes that perfect balance of being light enough to manoeuvre and heat-responsive, while providing extra insurance against warping – especially vital for induction cooking. As a nice touch, these pans are stamped with ‘BK 2.5’, to subtly showcase this feature (especially if you are hanging this pan on a pot rack).
  
  
• Exclusive Sizes: Netherton Foundry made us an exclusive 28cm size, which does not exist in their range. It is an excellent size for everyday cooking, great for searing two chicken breasts or sea bass fillets. The 30cm size includes a shorter handle, plus a supportive helper handle, so it can fit in most UK home ovens.
• Stay-Cool Stainless Steel Handle: This handle is suitable for the hob, oven, and covered barbecues like the Big Green Egg. Unlike iron handles, it remains cool to the touch on the hob. It undergoes a double-tumbling process to create a smooth, matte texture that feels comfortable from the first use. (If the texture seems mottled out of the box, that is a result of the handmade nature of the product, not a defect. It will smooth out with time and use.) The handle has been seasoned in order to be the same colour as the pan's base.
  
  
• Double-Seasoned Finish: Each pan is double-seasoned pan by hand with organic flax seed oil, which is excellent for the way it deeply infuses into the pan, feeling dry and non-greasy to the touch. (Most pans come single-seasoned, so this extra layer gives a strong patina boost from the get-go.) This non-toxic patina offers an extra boost of stick-resistance, so you don’t need to pre-season the pan before use. You can just keep using it, and it will get more non-stick every time.
  
  
  • Can you use washing-up liquid to clean this pan? Until you are confident in your pan’s stick-resistant properties, we recommend using hot water and salt to clean your pan.
    
    
  • Do you need to re-season this pan? While not necessary, we highly recommend seasoning this pan whenever you feel like it could use a good boost. The process is simple and hands-off, especially if you season it in the oven.

How the Borough Kitchen x Netherton Foundry Frying Pan Is Made

1. Base Is Spun Into Shape: Every pan begins as a flat disc of iron that can be easily traced back to its origin. (Consider it ‘single origin’, like you would with coffee beans – knowing where a material comes from is the key to quality control.) Using a heritage British-made machine from 1920, master spinners manually guide the metal over a spool. Unlike pressing or casting, the base is untouched, only the sides are spun. This ensures the base stays perfectly flat for even heating.
2. Handle Is Smoothed and Securely Attached: Every handle is tumbled with computer-simulated rocks that are perfectly designed to remove sharp edges from Netherton Foundry’s handles. The handles are then very securely attached to the pan base; they use a fly press to punch holes in the pan’s base and securely attach the handles using special, British-made hot rivets. Made in Britain, these rivets are heated fast and cooled very slowly, for 24 hours. This process is expensive, costing 40 pence per rivet (versus 1 pence for standard rivets). But it’s worth it, because hot rivets expand even more once inside the pan, making the handles super secure.
3. Pans Are Shot-Blasted to Remove Impurities: After holes have been punched in the pan base in order to attach the handle, the whole assembled pan is placed on a rotating platform and blasted with sharp iron fragments. This cleans the metal and adds a specific, gritty micro-texture, which increases the surface area for the seasoning to bond to – resulting in enhanced stick-resistance.
4. Pans Are Seasoned By Hand: We were amazed at the seasoning process at Netherton Foundry, as it is done entirely by hand, just as you’d do in your own kitchen. A thin coat of flaxseed oil (any high-burning neutral oil would work) is applied all over the pan, including the handle, using a brush. It is then further rubbed in with a piece of cloth. (You want to make the oiled layer as thin as possible to prevent sticky spots.) The pans are then hung on a rack and sent into a large oven set to 280°C fan, so every part of the pan has equal exposure to heat. This polymerises the oil into a hard, protective, and naturally stick-resistant finish. Every time you cook in this pan, the oiled finish becomes stronger.
5. Finished and Packed with Eco-Friendly Materials: Once our pans have been seasoned, three brass rivets are secured (to cover the holes used to hang the pans on the oven rack). Pans are hand-wrapped in UK-made recyclable paper bags, and tied with natural, compostable jute string.

Why We Love Netherton Foundry

• Engineered, Not Just Designed: With a background in engineering for household gadgets, the founders prioritise how a pan works over how it looks. Every decision keeps functionality in mind, whether it’s using spun iron for heat-responsiveness, or natural flaxseed oil for a dry finish.
  
  
• Proud British Heritage: The foundry utilises refurbished machinery sourced from Birmingham and the Black Country, dating back a century. These tools were built for an era when objects were made to be repaired and cherished, rather than replaced. Rapeseed oil – sourced from Shropshire’s rolling fields of rapeseed flowers – is used to lubricate these machines, highlighting the commitment Netherton Foundry has for celebrating British resources.
  
  
• Human Craftsmanship: The Netherton Foundry team consists of about twenty people, including all four members of the founding family, and their workshop produces 240 pieces a day. When we visited, the team was celebrating the birthday of Colin (‘the master spinner’), who is currently teaching a younger cohort how to reach his level of mastery with the lathe. Every pan is a product of human skill and muscle memory that mass production cannot replicate.
• Eco-Friendly Practices: The Shropshire workshop runs on wind power and employs a closed-loop water system for its machinery. (When this was installed, the amount of water conserved was significant.) By avoiding synthetic coatings and plastic packaging, Netherton Foundry ensures their footprint is light.
  
  
• Made for Cooks: Netherton Foundry is deeply rooted in the culinary world, often creating bespoke tools for acclaimed chefs at restaurants like BRAT, KOL, and Honey & Co. Their fans include Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater, and Diana Henry. This has given them an excellent instinct for what chefs and home cooks want out of a pan. In short, they make pans for people who love to cook.