A question for Le Creuset lovers

[BiminiBonGoulash]

I’ve got a friend who has been dreaming about owning a Le Creuset casserole dish for months. She’s had an absolutely shit year and it’s her birthday coming up so I’d love to buy her one and cheer her up. We usually spend about £15 on presents, so it would be a bit much than usual!
On the Le Creuset website, there’s this 18cm one for £185 www.lecreuset.co.uk/en_GB/p/cast-iron-round-casserole/CI1177.html

I was a bit shocked by the price as I’m not a Le Creuset user myself so I naturally had a quick look around the internet to see if I could get one any cheaper. Only thing I came up with was this Le Creuset dish on TKMaxx for £29.99 www.tkmaxx.com/uk/en/home/kitchen+dining/baking+ovenware/27x22cm-orange-stoneware-casserole-oven-dish/p/78135989
Although I can visually see that the handles and the lid knob look different - are they otherwise very similar?! £29.99 seems too good to be true compared to the £185 one - is it a not as good version?! Because there’s no point in buying her a slightly shit version of her dream, I’d rather fork out for the dream. But I’d also rather save 100 quid if they are basically the same! So could any Le Creuset users help me out please?
And i know there are knock offs out there that are just as good, but her dream is Le Creuset so it’ll have to be a Le Creuset one. Thank you!

But they’re not the same. OP wants LC, not some Aldi dupe

This is going to sound snarky and I genuinely don’t mean it to but you should probably see a doctor about that.

I have a Le Creuset iron wok that I bought about 17 years ago and is still like new, and I use it almost daily. Cost about £120 at the time. I never put it in the dishwasher mind, and think this helps.
I also have two frying pans (different sizes), probably cost £30-50 each, and did put these in the dishwasher and the non-stick part started coming away, I contacted them, they sent free replacements as there have a lifetime guarantee, and said to keep the others.
I would only buy pots and pans from there now.
We do have a selection of the orange crockery, but hardly use this.

It's nice of you OP. I have some cast iron LC and we never use it, it's a pain, I recently gave the majority of the ceramic stuff to charity, it's so clunky. The mugs are lovely though, they're my favourite thing to drink out of.

Would it make more sense to just get her a Le Creuset gift voucher? It sounds more like it means something for her to own something by the brand for whatever reason so that way she can choose, choose a colourway etc. I do think the 18 inch dish is too small to get any reasonable use out of for the extortionate price and they only go up after that; but it depends on your budget I suppose.

Given that it sounds more like she just likes the brand, I think it would be a really nice gift to buy a set of LC mugs or egg cups or similar:

www.johnlewis.com/le-creuset-stoneware-rainbow-mugs-350ml-set-of-6-assorted/p1953343?sku=234393371&srsltid=AWLEVJzDNnNmzmJsiR6bcNpYkjsC-TPd7cH2vH4xc9_fNz9eH9PA6LU14CM

Just a suggestion though!

What a generous gift and what a nice friend you are. They are good and knock offs don't compare though that's not to say if you use a cheaper version you're a rubbish cook.It's just that it's silly to argue Le Creuset is no good.

18cm is too small. You want 20cm which is good for stew for one or two people or 22cm which works for 2-4 people.

I find them easy to lift and I'm no circus strongwoman. It's because they have two handles. Frying pans and saucepans with one handle are more difficult to lift and I have a couple but they're annoying. Also the ones with wooden handles aren't dishwasher proof. I don't mind washing up by hand but I know someone who made a very expensive mistake.

I do have a 26cm griddle pan though which is brilliant for griddling meat for the stripes and charred flavour. I use it nearly every day for toast. I take the food out of it and wait until it has cooled down so I can move it with both hands.

I also have a 26cm shallow casserole and a 22cm oval deep cocotte which it the exact shape for poaching a whole chicken but that's a bit indulgent. Your friend probably wants one of the classic deep round ones. I've squashed a whole chicken into the biggest round one.

I bought them 25-30 years ago when prices were high but not crazy. The local House of Fraser used to have a New Year sale and alternate the least fashionable colours - dark green and dark blue. The orange, red and mid blue were never on sale or any of the other limited edition colours like yellow and dove grey. So mine are mismatched but really worth it. They will outlive me.

You’re all stars - you’ve made this decision so much easier for me, really helped me out!

also, you should all work for Le Creuset - because you convinced me to go for a bigger size than the 18cm!
like a few of you said, if I’m already paying that much for the dish, I would hate for it to be one that’s too small!

huge thanks to HundredMilesOrMore for the pointing out that it’s cheaper on Amazon! That’s really been brilliant, because I was already convinced upthread that I needed bigger than 18cm, and I had already considered myself as spending £180 once you lot made me realise the tkmaxx one was out, so now by getting it on Amazon I can spend the same £180 to get a 24cm one!

just to check with you all before I buy it, I’m going to buy it from this Amazon link - this is definitely the genuine Le Creuset on Amazon, right?
www.amazon.co.uk/Creuset-Signature-Cast-Round-Casserole/dp/B00VA5H8AY/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?c=ts&keywords=Casserole%2BDishes&qid=1651785358&refinements=p_4%3ALe%2BCreuset&s=kitchen&sr=1-1&ts_id=11715821&th=1&psc=1

thanks so much to anyone who told me about their non-le Creuset versions being just as good - if I was buying for myself, I’d absolutely go for one of those, so hopefully that might help someone who is thinking of a non-le Creuset version. For her (and unfortunately for my wallet!), I’ve got to go branded as Iike a few others said, I’ve felt there’s no point in going for her dream if it’s not quite her dream, and I know she’s got a vision of hearty meals in a le Creuset dish and if that’s important to her, then it’s important to me.

thanks to anyone who told me that it’s the volcanic that’s the classic colour - I couldn’t quite remember if it was the red or the volcanic one that was from memory and I hedged my bets on the wrong side of 50:50! So I’ll go for the volcanic!

to anyone worrying about making her feel uncomfy, I’ve thought about that and i think it’s going to be okay because we both earn the same amount and it’s something that neither of us would really treat ourselves to normally, but I’ve picked up a little bit of overtime so that I can cover it, so I think she’d understand that it’s not me being flash and it’s not be using all my pennies either.

thanks so much everyone, I feel like I understand it all so much more and I’m really grateful for the honesty re 180cm being too small. Thank you!

I'd say yes it very definitely is the genuine article OP it comes with the warranty/guarantee.

I am sure your friend will be thrilled with this lovely gift and gesture from you, it's very thoughtful.

I have a big one (for a family of 5) and a smaller one (which I had before kids). The smaller one is 24cm and I agree that's the right size you'll need. I hope she loves it! They really do last a lifetime.

@BiminiBonGoulash you sound like a really warm and caring friend. She's lucky to have you (for thinking of her so much, not spending loads on her)

I have the 24cm one and love it but it is way too big for someone living on their own. Now that my kids are away most of the time, I rarely use it. I'm thinking of getting a smaller one now for dh and me as I love being able to cook on the hob before transferring to the over.

I would suggest measuring some saucepans you already have and seeing what looks reasonable for 1-2 people.

I've just gone and measured my saucepans . I would say 20cm is perfect for someone living on their own. You would also be able to do a 2 person dinner too. The 18cm would be ok for a lot of dinners for one, but the 20cm is a safer bet.

Oops! 🤭

No one cooks a single portion of a 2-hour stew or casserole though surely? You'd cook enough for a couple of days at least or it's not economical. And presumably she'll cook for friends sometimes too. I'd stick with 24cm for versatility 🙂

The 24cm one is huge. I always cook for two days for 2 of us and find it too big for that. I would say the 20cm would do a decent dinner for 2-3 people. The 24cm is at least 6 people's worth of dinner. My 24cm is practically retired since the kids moved out.

What a wonderful friend you must be
I have had my LC casserole pot since 1996 and it still looks as good as new. It is used at least once a week. We also have 3 saucepans we have had since about 1998. It's a present that will last a lifetime

A few years ago was desperate for a LC dish like this. Bought one from Pro Cook. I swear it was cast iron and exactly the same quality. Still expensive but looked good on the oven top and on table.

someone else may have mentioned this but I didn’t have time to read all the posts.

Good luck. Like others have said, what a caring friend you are 😀

I gave a Le Creuset pot and roasting tin
to a family member for a wedding gift, in purple.

A classic wedding gift imo.

The kind of gift you would love to receive yourself.

I got a discount as the box was missing hence got the roasting tin as well.

Pricey but worth it.

They do nice teapots and mugs too.

I am a huge le creuset fan, have lived in France and used them a lot. the answer to everything is that it has to be 'volcanic orange'. They are hugely expensive, but actually people pass them down through the generations. I couldn't stretch to one myself. Other manufacturers do very similar pans. I bought a Denby cast iron pan. Hopefully you can still buy one discounted on their website and Tesco points can be converted into 3 times the value for Denby (that's what I did). Promised myself that i had to use this £150 pan a lot to justify it. I bought the big, shallow round dish with lid. I use it all the time! For paellas, risottos, Italian chicken on the hob, and lots of other things. Goes from hob to oven too and even in the dishwasher (but so big that I tend to wash in sink). Hope this helps. I went for the cream colour and it will fit in with any kitchen.

Le Creuset is splendid, but very heavy. If you or your friend have to heave a big casserole out of a low oven, you might find it hard work. I've had Le Creuset casseroles for years, but now I've got arthritis, I can't use them much.

I struggle to lift them when empty, let alone when full of food

There's a Le Creuset Outlet at York Designer Outlet

I’ve had my Le Creuset since 1992 - still going strong. That’s why they’re so expensive!

I live alone, I'm one of the older MNers, and the 24cm is the perfect size and I'm absolutely able to lift it.

A LC casserole (or similar - I love my Denby version) is about batch cooking for a single person, or cooking for friends and family. I love plonking the dish down on the table (a decent mat is needed of course) when friends or family come round. It exudes warmth, hospitality and coziness.

I wish I knew which charity shops people here had dumped their LCs at!

Yes, the stone one cannot be used on the stove.

Saw this on the Bicester website, larger and reduced in price…