Le creuset: Is it worth it?

[cardamoncoffee]

I've been wanting to invest buy the largest casserole dish (6L) for ages but keep stalling at the price. Is it worth the £250? I'm envisaging me throwing stuff into it, bunging it in the oven for a few hours and then lovely meals.

Tell me the good, bad and the ugly please.

I love ours. It was a gift but some shades are available at outlet shops and TK Maxx.

My parents have been going on their le creuset set since their marriage 32 years ago. A few years in, they chipped their dutch oven and le creuset replaced it. So they do stand by their product as well.

We were just discussing today if they were worth it as I noticed our Sainsbury's one had a chip.

I think the price difference is so great rapid you buy Sainsbury's half price. I'm pleased with ours though there are a few rust spots

The base of our big Le Crueset casserole starting chipping off after about 8 years. Not good enough really. We weren't cooking on a high heat.

We now have a Le Chasseur, same size, and I think it's better. You can make any thing in it.

My Le Creusets are quite old now (25 yrs +) but still OK. They stick on the stovetop if you’re not careful, and leave rust marks when you wash them and leave them on the drainer. I wouldn’t pay £250 for a casserole dish but I did use Nectar points for a big casserole (about £70 at the time). I find a 29cm oval one too large and heavy (I use it for pasta only really) so I mostly use a 25cm one, which is plenty big enough for 4 of us.

When they stick badly, I leave them to soak in Biotex and warm water for a while.

I’d also recommend their pottery dish range - I bought seconds from a Le Creuset shop 25 yrs ago and although now chipped and cracked they’re still going. TK Maxx is good for picking up cheap pottery dishes.

Yes, they make a spectacular weapon.
Useless for cooking though. I just can't lift them when they are full of food.

We had a set of pans, casserole dishes, roasting dishes, frying pans, griddles and the saucepans with frying pan lids as wedding presents 25 years ago. The only ones I regret are the frying pans as everything sticks in them. I'm not sure I would pay £250 myself though.

For me no - I cook on a ceramic hob and no matter how low you turn the heat down food sticks and burns.
I’ve still got a smaller sized round Le Creuset which I like because of its size for everyday but when my larger dish looked so awful that I couldn’t bear to use it anymore I replaced it with an Aldi version and it’s absolutely fine.

I love the new Star Wars ones.

I inherited about £2000 worth (lord knows why my aunt bought them because they’d barely been used) of Le Creuset some years ago, so had a lovely variety of pans, casserole dishes, trays etc.

Boy did I feel chuffed when I acquired them. And they so wonderfully suited my kitchen (mustard yellow!). I was over the moon, as it’s not something I’d have ever justified the cost of, but I’ve always liked the look of the le creuset stuff, and it always reminds me of my Nanna.

But alas, I hated them. I found it far to easy to burn things, everything stuck, no matter how careful, and they were so heavy. It was terribly awkward to do basic things like tip pasta into the colander or lift a roast in an out of the oven, without the fear of dropping something and smashing everything it came into contact with.

I was in constant fear of breaking the oven top (glass) and also found them a mare to clean due to the weight.

I noticed they marked on the inside very easily. It didn’t seem to matter which utensils I used, there were lines all over the pans from stirring.

In the end I (sadly) gave up using them and had them on display 🤓 until I decided it was silly and a waste of space, so I sold them on eBay. For about £150 😢

I had the ceramic overnware (is it ceramic?) Anyway, it cracked in the oven during the first use.

ooo I just remembered this recipe: www.seriouseats.com/2015/04/how-to-make-easy-pan-roasted-chicken-breasts-with-lemon-rosemary-pan-sauce.html

I don't make the sauce but the chicken breasts turn out wonderfully using a small le creuset casserole instead of a skillet.

OMG I love my Le Creuset!

I’ve had a set of pans & 2 casserole dishes for 21 years and they are as good as new.

Definitely worth the investment.

I have several Le Creuset and Sainsbury's. Both perform as well as each other. Before that I had two Fontignac casseroles, bought in France. Much cheaper than Le Creuset. They did sterling service for nearly thirty years.

If you're going to have them on display and love them, by all means invest, but really you are paying for the name.

Also, you will be committed to the colour you choose for ever, so make sure you won't get tired of it!

Wait til the January sales, you can always get massive reductions on Le Creuset.

I love mine. I have the midcentury one designed by Raymond Loewy and it’s beautiful. Very heavy though! Check EBay and outlet stores for bargains.

They have a lifetime warranty. I just got all my pans replaced. They are slightly different, but after over 20 years, who cares?

Chasseur is just as good and much cheaper

Short answer: no.
I quite like my pans but they stained badly early on, have never been properly cleanable and they’re very heavy.
I got mine in sales for much less than full price, but even so, I’m not sure they represent good value for money.

I bought a Chausseur on an Amazon deal quite a few years ago and I love it. I love starting a dish off on the hob then putting it into the oven to cook.

Not sure.

For our wedding we were gifted a some stainless steel saucepans & frying pans & 2 cast iron pots. We use them a lot but I'm not sure I would pay those prices & the cast iron is very heavy.

You can’t just stick it in the oven and forget about it just because it’s Le Crueset. I agree with a previous poster that it sounds like you need a slow cooker.

I’ve got some le creuset and more recently a Sainsbury’s one and they do seem on a par to me at the moment but I’ve had the le crueset for thirty years and maybe the Sainsbury’s ones won’t last but it’s a quarter of the price.

There is an outlet in Portsmouth . Plus they do offers on it at John Lewis

I don’t have any experience of Le Creuset myself (do love the look of them though!) , but John Lewis has 20% off at the moment www.johnlewis.com/le-creuset-signature-cast-iron-round-casserole/volcanic/p3923228

I bought Pro Cook instead as about half the price.