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

[BobPatSamandIgglePiggle]

Big oval

[BobPatSamandIgglePiggle]

Big

[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

[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 :)

[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!

[HazleNutt]

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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!