The Sunshine is Here! Time for Outside Entertaining!
March 26, 2012
Now is the time to dust of the garden chairs, make a date with friends and family and get prepared to hold a garden social.
Wilstone House and gardens are the sole UK importers of the most amazing garden feature. The Kadai firebowl.
Once used for ceremonical cooking in India, Wilstone import original Kadai and recycled Kadai. The difference? The originals were used to cook food inside the bowl. The outsides are lovely and knarly from the build up of the flames over the years. Full of character, each original Kadai is completely different. Wilstone also sell a recycled range. These are made from recycled iron oil drums. For further information, head to www.kadai.com
I’m often asked, what can you cook on a Kadai? The answer … pretty much anything! From your usual sausages and burgers, to fish or shell fish, either wrapped in foil or skewered, vegetables, joints of meal … anything!
My recent favourite is Piri Piri Chicken. A very simple and easy to follow recipe: 6-12 fresh red chilli’s, 1 tbsp garlic, half a tsp oregano, half a tsp paprika, 100 ml olive oil, 50 ml red wine vinegar. Simply pre heat your oven to 180c/350f/gas4, place the chilli’s on a roasting tray and roast for 10 mins. Cool and roughly chop. Place the chillies, garlic, oregano, paprika, oil and viegar in a saucepan and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Allow it to cool then puree. Store in a lidded container for a month if required. Shake before use. Marinate chicken portions for a least one hour (I prefer overnight). Cook on the hot part of a kadai firebowl to seal, then move to the outer edge to cook properly. Always test food before serving.
Happy Spring!
March 14, 2010
As I sit here, typing from our retail outlet near Church Stretton in Shropshire it definitely looks like Spring has finally sprung!
Blue skies over the Caer Caradoc and Lawley Hills, Spring lambs dotting the landscape like white full stops, and an abundance of snowdrops. Lovely!
We have been busy here at Wilstone – having aleady done the first show of 2010 – the Spring Fair at the NEC., in Birmingham. We took a huge range of our iron kadai firebowls with us, and they went down a storm! Our firebowls are the outdoor trend for this year, so if you’d like one, order it now before they run out, which they will! Telephone us on 01694 771800.
The shop is now packed to the rafters with new stock, from opium sofa benches to the most wonderful ornately carved mirrors, delicious fabrics, beautiful antique furniture and so much more!
So, if you are travelling along the A49 in Shropshire, look out for Wilstone House and Gardens!
Hand Carved Sandstone from Wilstone House & Gardens
October 11, 2008
Wilstone House & Gardens have a huge range of new hand carved sandstone troughs, planters, urns etc.
Wilstone can also offer a bespoke service with their stone range, having completed many projects working in collaboration with architects and home designers. Wilstone sources it’s stone directly from Rajasthan, and aims to continually develop close ties with manufacturers to ensures companies operate under the Fairtrade ethos.
A recent project
Rajasthan has been a rich source of carved sandstone for centuries, used for building the forts, palaces and great cities of India. This tradition lives on through the continued work of companies like Wilstone, who, for the past seven years have been developing close ties with these highly skilled stone masons in creating an extensive range of designs, both traditional and contemporary.
The sandstone used is still quarried in the traditional manner mostly by hand using high performance water jets fired into carefully drilled holes to blast the natural layers of stone apart.
The resulting block can then be checked for faults, colour and texture which is particularly important as this sedimentary rock can vary across its stratas according to when it was laid down.
This natural variation is what gives the stone its own individual character and sets it apart from its concrete or reconstituted stone counterparts.
After rinsing, the sandstone is ready to be worked and the selected blocks are taken to the stone carver’s yard where they are reduced in size using hammers and chisels. Once the excess stone has been removed they are either fixed to large lathes for turning or given to the draftman who imprints the design to be carved into the block from a master set of full size drawings, then the time consuming task begins for the stone carver to transform a two dimensional sketch into a three dimensional carved work of art.
The master carver normally finishes off each piece to guarantee a uniform quality, before the item is carefully crated and packed into containers bound for the European market.
One of the beauties of this simple and ancient process is the ability to make any design as a one-off, or multiple copies in most sizes.
Classical and Contemporary
Stone Jali Panels from Wilstone House and Gardens
October 2, 2008
Detail of the Jali panel above, from Wilstone House and Gardens
These enchanting pierced stone windows have been used by Eastern countries for generations as decorative screens designed to let the natural light and cooling breeeze through – but not the harsh rays of the sunshine.
Red Sandstone Jali - one of many from the range at Wilstone House and Gardens
The more decorative Mogul pieces are now becoming very collectable. Place a mirror behind a jali panel, or fit into a wall with a light behind it. Their elegance and fine carving provide an interesting feature to any dull wall, inside or out.
Please have a look at the Wilstone House and Gardens website for further products www.wilstone.com
The Wilstone House and Gardens Kadai
October 2, 2008
Perfect for the cool late Summer evenings, the Kadai from Wilstone House and Gardens makes an ideal BBQ. After you have eaten, remove the grill and fill with firewood. The handles don’t get too hot, so move the Kadai nearer and all your friends will be toasty warm. Lovely!
These Kadai are available in many different sizes to suit all gardens and outside spaces.
For further information, please visit the Wilstone House and Gardens website www.wilstone.com
The Wilstone House and Gardens Kadai on a high stand
