Give something unique with Canterbury Pottery.

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It’s that time of year when everyone is looking for special presents.  Christmas for me isn’t about expensive presents – but about things that someone who knows me well has spotted and picked out just for me.  I try to do the same for my friends and family but usually fail and end up checking Amazon gift lists or choosing a bottle of booze. 

Canterbury Pottery contacted me a few weeks ago and asked me to take a look and pick something from their site that I might like to use for my own recipe posts.  I didn’t take much persuading, once I looked at their website it was more a matter of trying to make my mind up from a whole host of things I’d like to find in my crockery cupboard.  What’s particularly special for me about their pottery is that not only is it really beautiful, but it is oven, microwave and dishwasher safe.  That means I will genuinely use anything I get and it won’t just end up gathering dust in the back of the cupboard.

I ended up picking a pair of medium-sized fluted serving bowls.  My thinking was that they will work very well to hold fresh fruit, but that I can also use them to cook both sweet and savoury bakes.

Picking things that are handmade without seeing them ‘in the flesh’ is always a bit risky – you never know whether what turns up will look as good as the version online.  Sometimes you get lucky and what arrives is actually better thank you imagined.  

My bowls are truly beautiful and I love looking at the patterns in the glaze. They are also quite tactile.  The fluting around the edges have a lovely feel – they are finger size!  And, they are, of course, completely unique.  Bowls like mine are priced at £18.50 each on the Canterbury Pottery website which I think is a snip for something handmade and beautiful.  I don’t know the story of how Richard and Jan Chapman, the husband and wife team who run Canterbury Pottery, got started back in 1963.  What I do know is that I love the beautiful work they produce.  If you happen to be in Canterbury and visit, you’ll find them producing more pottery in the studio at the back of their showroom.

Expect to see a lot more of them in recipe posts over the next few months – and if you were trying to think of a late present for me for Christmas, well, I really love the plant pots – or any of the other serving dishes for that matter.  Take a look at the website and I’m sure you’ll fall in love too!

Looking for other Christmas ideas for food lovers? Take a look at the tabletop smoker and BBQ from Sous Chef, another of my favourite places to find special presents.