I’ve featured a variety of my treasured possessions in this series of posts (as an antidote to my otherwise rather fervent love to buy, buy, buy) – from heirloom jewellery to my beloved Kenwood Chef mixer. Next up is an item that in one brightly coloured item of kitchenware, manages to stir up 30 years worth of foodie memories – from childhood Christmases to my husband and I’s first date – the Le Creuset volcanic orange cookware range.
Le Creuset started making their porcelain enamelled cast-iron cookware in France, in 1925. When I came along in 1983 our kitchen in Devon was already filled with their pots and pans, from huge casserole dishes to three-tiered steamers that weighed more than me. I remember my mum cooking everything from slow-cooked stews to fruity jams in these cheerful, heavy-based pans – with me stood on a chair dutifully at her side, stirring and watching.
Fast forward 20 years and one mortgage later, my parents bought me a collection of pans as a moving in present for my first home. As a singleton I only needed the basics, but it was a comforting reminder of home when I was 200 miles away in London.
I love their reassuring weight, their ability to retain heat and cook things evenly – the thickness of the pans means you get that gentle, referred heat rather than a ‘flash in the pan’ type of cooking that lets flavours develop slowly. Also, in a world of constant consumption, they come with a reassuring ‘lifetime guarantee’.
A few years on and I arrived on the Bristol doorstep of a brooding Italian I had met through a friend, for our first date. It was New Year’s Day 2005. 12 hours later, and not quite able to break the spell of a perfect day together (Clifton Zoo, cosy pub lunch, trashy NYD TV) the Italian lured me into the kitchen with the promise of a bowl of homemade pasta before I went home and there, sat on his hob, was an array of Le Creuset volcanic orange pots. Perhaps not a conventional sign that someone is, The One, but a sign none the less. The Italian and his collection of Le Creuset moved in with me 8 years ago and we have been adding to our little cookware family ever since.
In another twist of fate, we have moved relatively near Street and the Clarks Outlet Village. Beyond the Whistles, Gap, Barbour and Jaeger delights, is a brilliant Le Creuset outlet store where we have picked up pie dishes, a salt pig, mugs and measuring bowls, all at a heavily discounted price. Yes, they are not cheap bits of kit, but when you consider some of our treasured pans are older than us (30-something), that’s pretty good going, I reckon.
