Le Creuset - worth it?

[escape]

Just wondering if there are any die hard fans or is it a case of style over substance before I invest?
TIA

[Bowerbird5]

Yes, Frazzle.
I bought a large shallow dish for pasta, Mousaka etc for our family of six. It cracked within six months.
OP I bought a cheaper version of a casserole dish in France which has been brilliant. I have a few small Le Creuset ones which were part of a Christmas offer years ago and find them very handy for veg.
My sister picked up a full set at Oxfam years ago for less than one pan!

[indio32]

Yes, have lots of it. Thing is it was bought a good few years ago. I noticed last week that the 28cm round casserole now cost £250!!! WTF :(

Yes would recommend but NOT at current ludicrous prices even with the almost permanent 20% discount.

[tas12]

I bought the round 24cm one and it cost a hefty princely sum of money. I bought it as it had a lifetime warranty (haha) and thought that it would be good as it was Le Creuset. It was very heavy and I hardly used it. However after a few years a crack appeared on the handle and the cast iron handle broke. It sat in the cupboard for another year or so before I went in person to the branch (a 150 miles round trip I might add) where I had purchased it, complete with receipt. They claimed that they would send it away and ring me back. Nothing happened for a few weeks and when I rung them, I was told that they would do nothing with it as I must have knocked and broken it. A cast iron handle??? I have a butler's sink and my kitchen floor is slate so it is not possible for me to knock it without actually causing huge cracks in either. Forget Le Creuset. I bought 2 cast iron pots, one from ASDA and another from ALDI that I use daily for the last 3 years and actually take a metal spoon to scrap the burnt food (as I do not use oil at all) every day and guess what, at about 30% of the discounted price of this rubbish pot, they are both still in good condition. When I googled about it, I realised that lots of other customers had similar problems with their Le Creuset products and that almost all of them had zero backing up from the company despite the lifetime warranty.
I thought that it is only fair to warn other customers not to expect anything from this company and its products. It is a good piece to show off to your friends as everybody knows that it costs a lot but in actual fact, buying a piece of inferior goods for a huge sum of money will just make you look foolish. I certainly do.

[johnmondin81]

It's definitely an investment and the great thing is you'll use it for a long time. There are very few bad review on Le Creuset except for the price. Understandably it's because you're buying a premium product with premium nonstick coating. The skillet reviews are mostly positive and you can't really go wrong buying one.

[HazleNutt]

Good, but in the same price range you can also get Staub, which I find better.

[Mrswellyboot]

Frazzle my ovenwear cracked as well! Wasnt happy. Still have one ceramic casserole pot but only use it for serving.

I have the griddle pad. I find food sticks and the saucepans are far too heavy for me. So they are in the cupboard!

[roastchesnutlatte]

I bought a set of saucepans with my first pay cheque over 25yrs ago. I use them daily and they look pretty much good as new.
Large casserole of a similar vintage also going strong and various new ones added.
Dont use frying pan as prefer lighter non stick ones.
Not much else in my kitchen is of similar age!
was very pleased to get a new casserole dish in a lush purple for xmas :)

[BobPatSamandIgglePiggle]

Sorry!
Big oval crock pot - fab. Bought at an outlet place but was still £80! Ouch - will hopefully last forever though.

Gridle pan - useless. Too hard to clean.

Mugs - lovely and look fab in our drab old kitchen BUT have chipped which i hoped they wouldn't.

I love le creuset and always look for bargainous ones sadly looking to use it all for colour inspiration if DH ever gets round to the kitchen extension

[BobPatSamandIgglePiggle]

Big

[BobPatSamandIgglePiggle]

Big oval

[echt]

DH bought his set of Le Creuset pans 30 years ago and still going strong - the orange ones.

Aldi's Crofton range is good, and very cheap.

[CashmereMouse]

I love mine, my friends mum gave me hers when moved house and didn't have space for them anymore - they are at least 35years old.

A good tip for getting ridding of staining on the inside is to use a couple of scoops of bio washing powder, add hot water and simmer for a few hours. Then leave to sit on top of your stove for as long as you can face (I usually forget it and leave it for a day or so) and they come up beautifully.

Had to do this after I had an incident with a pan of burnt damson chutney, it got rid of the purple stains and, eventually, the horrendous burnt mess on the inside.

I wasn't prepared to give up lightly when it came to my Le Creuset!

[Yankeecandlequeen]

I have a Pyrex one I got with the Tesco stamps. Works really well & a fraction of the price with the stamps.

[greyvix]

I love mine, particularly the large casserole dish. The bottom is pitted though, where DH burnt it. They are meant to have a lifetime guarantee, but I wouldn't know where to take it now. It's 30 years old.

[coffeeinbed]

I've been drooling over a Staub casserole.

[BrownSauceSandwich]

I have a few (more than I use), and I really like them for slow cooking, but I wouldn't have them as my only pans. Also have a couple of chasseur (yep, I'm acquisitive), which I'd say are just as good, and were cheaper, but are slightly less pretty.

You can't put any of them in the dishwasher if you want the finish to stay glossy.

[JRmumma]

Yes, yes and yes! Sooo good i cook everything in my le creuset pot. Love that it goes on hob and in oven, cooks evenly and keeps food warm for ages.

[higgle]

I had a big casserole for wedding present 29 years ago and a small one for my 21st - 36 years ago. I used both of them at least once a week but this year they were starting to stick a bit and the insides had gone from being glossy to dull. I've replaced them with Sainsbury's this time around as didn't want to spend so much and the Sainsbury's ones were on special offer. I don't suppose I need anything that will last until I am 94 - won't have the strength to lift them if I'm still around by then!

[OpalTourmaline]

So in conclusion, they last well but you need to be Geoff Capes to lift them

[Volume121]

There's loads of Le Cruset in TK Maxx at the moment

[lisamcd1979]

We bought our stainless steel set from cheshire oaks outlet. Lifetime guarantee and they will price match anything you find cheaper. I love mine. They have a handy measurement guide inside the pan.

[papalazaru]

I love mine. I have 3 of the real thing and one knock off. It's true they are super heavy when full but nothing beats them for even-ness of cooking. and to be honest I can't tell any difference between the L.C. and the knockoff.
I agree about the ovenware though- quite a few of mine are cracked. But I still use them.

[Pollaidh]

Very good, but very heavy. I can't lift the large casserole dish once it's full!

The griddle pan is very good, large casserole dishes very good, as well as the casserole dish with a water bath at the top, which keeps the contents moist, not sure how it works but husband is convinced. I wouldn't bother with the brand for oven dishes, ramekins etc, as there's nothing special about those.

This is probably obvious but if you burn something on it, soak it. Definitely don't use a metal scouring pad. That will wreck it. If you avoid scouring pad mishaps then they should last decades.

[Thistledew]

I have several Le Cruset and one Chasseur. The enamel on the Chasseur has chipped in one small patch on the bottom.