Our story — Meet Wenjie
I ran the kitchen at a 60-seat restaurant in Fitzroy for seven years. Not a big place, but a full one most nights. My suppliers knew me by name, and I knew theirs. The guy who brought olive wood boards from a small workshop outside Mildura. The family in the Yarra Valley who sourced carbon steel cookware through a contact in Zhejiang. You build those relationships slowly, over invoices and phone calls and the occasional argument about lead times. When the restaurant closed in June 2020, those relationships were the only thing I walked away with that felt worth keeping.
Before the restaurant, I trained in Guangzhou and then spent three years working pastry sections in Sydney, first in Surry Hills, then a hotel kitchen in Pyrmont. I moved to Melbourne in 2011 and spent a year staging before I found the Fitzroy spot. Cooking professionally teaches you to think in units, not feelings. You care about whether the pan heats evenly, whether the board warps after six months of daily use, whether the storage container actually seals. I spent years buying the same items over and over because most of what I found in restaurant supply catalogues was built to be replaced, not kept.
In late 2020 I drove up to Bright on a Thursday with no real plan. I had a spare room in a house I was renting and about $14,000 saved. I called the olive wood contact first, then the carbon steel importer, then a ceramics supplier I had met at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2019. Three of them agreed to supply in smaller quantities than they usually would, because they trusted the order history from the restaurant. I registered the business in January 2021, built the first website myself over a weekend, and posted the first orders from the Bright post office on a Tuesday morning.
We are still based in Bright. I pack most orders myself in the back room, though we now ship around 400 orders a month. My suppliers are still the same people. The olive wood still comes from near Mildura. The carbon steel still comes through the same Zhejiang connection. I have not tried to scale faster than the relationships can hold. That is the whole thing, really.
— Still packing orders on Tuesday mornings. — Wenjie, Wenjie Wu
Journal
The pan supplier I found through a restaurant kitchen
The Cookswell pan didn't come from a trade show; it came from a conversation I'd been having for six years in a commercial kitchen.
Before I moved to Bright and started Vellum Court, I ran a small restaurant in Fitzroy for almost a decade. Not a famous one. Forty-two seats, a short menu that changed every few weeks, and a kitchen that went through cookware at a rate that would embarrass most home cooks. In that time I built up a loose network of suppliers, most of them small importers or local reps who knew their products well enough to actually argue with you about them. One of those was a guy named Derek who handled carbon steel and cast iron for a handful of restaurants across Melbourne. I hadn't spoken to him since early 2021.
I got back in touch with Derek in late 2023 when I was trying to work out what cookware to stock at Vellum Court. I knew what I wanted: a carbon steel frypan that would season properly, sit flat on an induction burner, and not cost three hundred dollars. Derek had been working with the Cookswell range for about two years by then and sent me a sample without much ceremony. It arrived in a plain cardboard box with a single sheet of seasoning instructions. No packaging theater, which I appreciated. I cooked eggs in it every morning for three weeks before I agreed to stock it.
What I was testing for wasn't just whether it cooked well, though it does. I was testing whether it behaved consistently. A pan that's brilliant on day one and patchy by week four is useless to me as a retailer, because I'm the person who hears about it. After 21 days of daily use, the seasoning on the Cookswell was darker and more even than some pans I'd used for six months in a restaurant kitchen. The steel is thicker than most carbon steel I'd handled before, around 2.5mm, which slows the heat response slightly but evens it out considerably.
Derek and I talked for about an hour on the phone before I placed my first order. He told me the pans were made to a spec he'd negotiated himself, not just a standard catalogue item he was moving. That mattered to me. In hospitality you learn quickly that the supplier relationship is the product, in a sense. If something goes wrong, you need someone who picks up the phone and knows the answer. I'd watched enough restaurateurs get burned by suppliers who disappeared after the invoice cleared. Derek is not that kind of supplier.
I stocked 18 units in the first order and they sold through faster than anything else I launched with. I've since reordered twice. The pan is now the thing I'm asked about most, which is both gratifying and slightly exhausting when you're also trying to run everything else.
Seasoning a carbon steel pan for the first time
I've watched people ruin new carbon steel pans in the first ten minutes, and most of the time it's the same mistake.
I get at least two or three messages a week from people who've bought the Cookswell pan and are confused about seasoning. Some of them have watched videos online and come away more confused than before. A few have already made the mistake I'm going to describe, which is using too much oil in the first seasoning layer. I understand why it happens. More oil feels like more protection. It isn't. What you get instead is a thick, gummy layer that takes weeks to sort out and makes the pan feel sticky in a way that feels like a defect but isn't.
Here's what I actually do, which is what I did in a professional kitchen for years. Wash the pan once with warm soapy water to remove the factory coating, then dry it completely over low heat on the stove. This step matters more than people think. Any moisture left in the steel before you start will cause problems. Once the pan is dry and warm, take a folded paper towel, dip it in a neutral oil, and wipe the entire cooking surface. Then wipe most of it back off. You want a film so thin it looks like almost nothing. Then heat the pan to smoking point over medium-high heat and hold it there for about four minutes.
Repeat that process three times in a row and you have a base seasoning you can actually cook on. The Cookswell pan has a slightly rough surface texture compared to some carbon steel I've used, which means it holds seasoning well once you've built it up, but it also means the early layers matter. If you rush it or use too much oil, those first layers don't bond properly and you end up scrubbing back and starting again. I've done that. It's not the end of the world but it's annoying.
After the initial seasoning, the best thing you can do is cook something fatty. Duck fat, butter, bacon, whatever you have. The first few weeks of cooking in a new carbon steel pan are genuinely formative for how it performs long-term. I tell people to think of it less like maintaining a non-stick and more like looking after a wooden chopping board: it needs a little attention early on and then it mostly looks after itself. The Maple & Mint board we stock follows the same logic, actually. Oil it four or five times in the first month, then once every couple of months after that.
The short version is: less oil than you think, more heat than feels comfortable, and patience in the first three weeks. After that, carbon steel is genuinely easier to live with than most cookware. I've had a pan in daily use for eleven years and it's still the one I reach for first.
Running a small product business from Bright, not the city
I moved to Bright in early 2023 and spent the first six months convincing myself the logistics would work out fine, which they mostly did.
When I left the restaurant in Melbourne I had a vague idea that I'd do something with the supplier contacts I'd built up over the years. I didn't have a clear plan for where I'd do it from. My partner had family in the Ovens Valley and we'd been talking about leaving the city for a while, so Bright happened partly by intention and partly because we found a place to rent before we'd really decided. I launched Vellum Court about eight months after we moved. The kitchen at the new place is considerably larger than the one in Fitzroy, which is either a sign or just good luck.
The logistics question is the one people ask about most when I mention I'm running an e-commerce business from a town of roughly 2,300 people. The honest answer is that it works fine for most things and is genuinely annoying for a few. Auspost pickups run every weekday from Bright, which covers the bulk of what I send. Larger shipments from suppliers sometimes route through Wangaratta or Albury, which adds a day or two but isn't usually a problem. What I didn't anticipate was how much slower the general rhythm of receiving and checking stock would feel compared to when I was in Collingwood and could sort a problem in an afternoon.
What I did anticipate, and what has turned out to be true, is that the overheads here are significantly lower than running anything customer-facing in Melbourne. I'm not paying for a shopfront or a warehouse in a suburb where warehouse rents have been climbing for three years. The trade-off is that I can't have people come in and handle things before they buy, which matters more for some products than others. The ceramic knives in the Sundew set are the thing I most wish people could hold before ordering. The weight distribution is unusual and some people find it strange at first.
The other thing I didn't expect was how much the season changes what I'm thinking about. In Melbourne I was aware of seasons in a hospitality sense: produce availability, what people wanted to eat, when covers would drop off. Here the seasons are physical in a way that's harder to ignore. The Ovens Valley in autumn is a different place to what it is in July, and I find myself thinking about the product range differently depending on what's happening outside. The enamel mixing bowls feel right in autumn and winter in a way they don't quite in January.
I'm not sure Bright was the strategically obvious choice for this kind of business. But I'm not sure Melbourne was obvious either, given what restaurant rents looked like by 2022. Most of the decisions I've made with Vellum Court have been less calculated than people assume when they hear the origin story. A lot of it has just been following the things I already knew how to do.
Cooking trout from the Ovens River in late autumn
The brown trout season closes at the end of June and I've been trying to make the most of it while the river is still running cold.
The Ovens River runs through town about four minutes walk from where I'm writing this. Brown trout season in the Victorian alpine region runs from the Saturday before the Queen's Birthday long weekend through to the end of June, which means right now, in late March, is when the river fishing is genuinely good. I'm not a serious angler. I own a rod and I go out maybe six or seven times a season. But a couple of people I know here fish regularly and they're generous with what they catch, which is the better arrangement for everyone involved.
Cooking a whole river trout in a carbon steel pan is one of those things that looks more technical than it is. The main requirement is that the pan is properly hot before the fish goes in, and that you leave it alone for longer than feels comfortable. A 400-gram fish, which is a reasonable size for a single serve, needs about four minutes on the first side over medium-high heat if the pan is seasoned and hot. I use a small amount of butter and a little neutral oil together, which raises the smoke point enough to get the skin properly crisp without burning everything. The Cookswell handles this well because the heat distribution across that thicker steel is even enough that you don't get a hot spot scorching the tail while the middle is underdone.
I've been using the Coastal Blue enamel bowls this season for mise en place when I'm cooking at home, which sounds like an odd thing to mention but they've become genuinely useful in a way I didn't fully expect when I was deciding to stock them. The wide shallow bowl holds a resting fish loosely tented in foil without trapping too much steam, which keeps the skin from going soft. That's a very specific use case, I know. But cookware that earns its place in an actual working kitchen through repeated use is the kind of thing I want to stock.
The valley changes a lot in March. The deciduous trees in Bright, which are the main reason tourists come here in April and May for the autumn festival, are just starting to turn. The mornings are cold enough now that you can see your breath before eight. I grew up in Ballarat so I'm not unfamiliar with cold, but there's something specific about the way the light falls in the Ovens Valley in autumn that I still find slightly arresting after two years. It makes me want to cook things that take time. Braises, slow roasts, anything that fills the house with smell for a few hours.
The Sundew ceramic knives get more use in this season than any other, mostly because I'm breaking down more whole vegetables and doing more prep-heavy cooking. The blade on the chef's knife in that set is 16.5 centimetres, which is a touch shorter than I used in the restaurant but feels right for home cooking where the bench space is less controlled. March is a good time to be in a kitchen in Bright. I'm not trying to sell you on that. It's just true.
Customer reviews
Sarah M. — Newtown, NSW — 2024-03-14 — 5/5
Carbon steel pan that actually works
Ordered the Cookswell Carbon Steel Frypan on a Tuesday and it was at my door by Thursday — faster than I expected for Sydney. Took about three seasons to get a decent non-stick surface going but it's well worth the effort. The weight and balance feel solid without being heavy. Really happy with it.
Tom R. — Brunswick, VIC — 2024-06-02 — 4/5
Good knives, packaging could be better
The Sundew Ceramic Knife Set arrived well-packed and the blades are genuinely sharp out of the box. Knocked off a star because one of the blade guards had a small crack when it arrived — emailed Vellum Court and they sent a replacement guard within a few days, no fuss. The knives themselves are great for everyday use.
Priya K. — South Melbourne, VIC — 2024-08-19 — 5/5
Chopping board I'll actually keep
I've gone through a few cheap boards that warped after a month. The Maple & Mint Bamboo Chopping Board has been in daily use for about six weeks now and it's holding up really well. It's a good size for prep work — not too big to store, not too small to be annoying. Arrived in two days with standard shipping.
James O. — Fremantle, WA — 2024-10-05 — 4/5
Mixing bowls are solid
The Coastal Blue Enamel Mixing Bowls look exactly like the photos online, which isn't always the case. The enamel finish is smooth and hasn't chipped after a couple of months of regular use. Delivery to Fremantle took six business days on standard, which was fine. Would have liked a pour spout on the larger bowl but that's a minor gripe.
Chloe B. — Surry Hills, NSW — 2024-11-28 — 5/5
Glass storage set — finally replaced my plastic
Bought the Eco-Fresh Glass Storage Set to replace a mismatched collection of old plastic containers and I'm glad I did. The lids seal properly and the glass doesn't stain from tomato-based sauces like plastic always did. Ordered on a Friday afternoon and it still arrived the following Wednesday, which I thought was decent.
Lena H. — New Farm, QLD — 2025-01-09 — 5/5
Gift wrapping was a nice touch
Ordered the bamboo chopping board as a housewarming gift with the gift wrap option. The kraft paper wrapping looked clean and the handwritten card was a genuine handwritten note, not a printed font pretending to be handwriting. My friend was impressed. Will order again for gifts.
Marcus T. — Hobart, TAS — 2025-02-17 — 4/5
Frypan is good, seasoning takes patience
The Cookswell Carbon Steel Frypan took longer to reach Hobart than I hoped — eight business days on standard — but that's more an Australia Post issue than Vellum Court's. The pan itself cooks evenly once you get past the initial seasoning phase. Instructions in the box were clear and honest about the break-in period. Happy with the purchase overall.
Anya W. — Fitzroy, VIC — 2025-04-03 — 5/5
Ceramic knives sharper than expected
I was a bit sceptical about ceramic knives but the Sundew set has genuinely surprised me. They stay sharp through daily veg prep without needing touching up. The blade guards are a practical addition — not something every knife set includes. Arrived next day from Bright to Fitzroy, which was a bonus.
Shipping
We ship Australia-wide using Australia Post for standard deliveries and StarTrack for express. Standard orders placed before 2pm AEST Monday to Friday are dispatched the same day and typically arrive within 3–8 business days for metro addresses and 5–10 business days for rural or remote locations. Express orders follow the same cut-off and generally reach metro addresses in 1–3 business days. All prices shown on our site include GST. Free standard shipping applies automatically at checkout on orders over $99 AUD. Express shipping is a flat $12.95 for all order sizes.
Every order is packed in recycled cardboard with paper void fill — no single-use foam or plastic bubble wrap. Fragile items like the Coastal Blue Enamel Mixing Bowls and Eco-Fresh Glass Storage Set are double-boxed and wrapped individually to reduce movement in transit. Once your order leaves our workshop in Bright, VIC, you'll receive a tracking number by email so you can follow it through the Australia Post or StarTrack network. If your tracking hasn't updated within 48 hours of dispatch, contact us and we'll look into it.
If your order arrives damaged, take photos of the packaging and the item before doing anything else and email them to hello@vellumcourt.com.au within 48 hours of delivery. We'll assess the damage and either send a replacement or issue a refund — whichever you prefer. We lodge the carrier claim on our end so you don't have to deal with that process. Please don't discard the original packaging until we confirm we don't need it for the claim. We aim to resolve damage cases within 3 business days of receiving your photos.
Returns
Under the Australian Consumer Law, you are entitled to a repair, replacement, or refund if a product has a major fault, is not fit for its described purpose, or does not match its description. These rights apply regardless of any store policy and have no set time limit — they exist for as long as a reasonable person would expect the product to last. If your Vellum Court product has a genuine fault, contact us at hello@vellumcourt.com.au with your order number and a description or photo of the issue. We'll sort it out quickly and cover any return postage costs where a fault is confirmed.
For change-of-mind returns, we accept requests within 30 days of the delivery date. The item must be unused, in its original packaging, and in a condition suitable for resale. Return postage for change-of-mind returns is at the buyer's expense. We recommend using a tracked service as we can't take responsibility for parcels lost in return transit. Once we receive and inspect the item, we'll process your refund or store credit within 5 business days. Items that show signs of use, have missing components, or arrive back damaged will not be accepted for change-of-mind returns.
Refunds are returned to your original payment method. Processing times after we approve a return are typically 3–5 business days on our end, though your bank or payment provider may take a few additional days to reflect the amount. We do not offer refunds on items marked as final sale at the time of purchase, or on gift wrapping fees. If you received an item as a gift and want to return it, the refund will go to the original purchaser unless we agree otherwise in writing. For any return queries, email hello@vellumcourt.com.au and include your order number in the subject line.