James Sherwin is a chef who is passionate about food, terroir and foraging. All of them are lovingly and skilfully brought together in his Wild Shropshire Restaurant.
James appeared on the BBC’s Countryfile in 2018. I was so inspired by the ethos of his cooking I reached out to him to see if we could work together. A few weeks after his TV appearance I joined him on a Saturday before service and photographed a few of his seasonal dishes.
We now meet up regularly and James creates some incredible dishes for me to photograph. During our shoots I have learnt so much about foraging and how amazing Shropshire is for produce.
James and his team were meant to be launching the new restaurant in April 2020, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, those plans have been put on hold. That didn't mean things stopped as James decided it was time to tell everyone about a project we had been working on for a little while. James’ passion for what he does comes through with every dish and this led to a joint idea to create a Wild Shropshire Cook Book.
This book has been two years in the making. Covering dishes from all seasons, featuring my photography and also designed by me. We are working with local publishers, Middle Farm, to create this book and it is currently available to pre-order.
Below are a handful of images from the book along with some sample pages.
I’ve worked with Nat for nearly 3 years and what’s great about her is her ability to make what she’s photographing look completely natural but incredible. What I also love is that she’s managed to tap into exactly how I wanted the project to look and not only that, it stands alone in look and feel. She’s incredibly talented and I count myself as very lucky to be one of the first to work with her.
James Sherwin - Chef Patron - Wild Shropshire
James Sherwin - Chef Patron - Wild Shropshire
