10 year itch, all my kitchen utensils/crockery/pans need replacing - what do you recommend?

[AnotherFineMess]

All of my wedding presents are on their way out so I'm going to ask for replacements for 30th birthday & 10th wedding anniversary presents.

I definitely could do with new knives, pans, casserole dish/crock pot, chopping board, etc. Please can you recommend anything that you have & love, or have seen & would love?

I don't want anything too ridiculously expensive as I'll be asking for it as a gift, but I would like good quality rather than bargain basement so that things will last until at least the next big birthday!

Thanking you...

you're getting 10th wedding anniversary presents? how does that work?

Buy quality stuff that will last, you generally get what you pay for. Specialist kitchen places, John Lewis or even TKMaxx has quite decent stuff at times. Lots of our stuff is Cdn made so not available here (Paderno, Groman knives...) and are still shiny (pots) and sharp.

we're 10 years married this year too, but thankfully our pans and knives are still going strong though i am getting bored of various other bits and bobs...

our knives are sabatier and great, prestige/la crueset pans also still going strong.

i'm not expecting 10 year wedding gifts though...and not sure I'd have loved getting knives and pans for my 30th!

Anniversary presents will be from parents and in-laws, they've already asked if there's anything we need. I certainly wouldn't have presumed they would buy anything but there you go, lucky moi

30th presents - my choice because I can't really afford to replace things myself (maternity leave, killer mortgage etc) so if I'm not going to spend the next 10 years hacking at swedes (the vegetables, not the nationality nor MNetter!) with blunt knives, then needs must!

Global knives are fab, pricey but great.
Would suggest non stick pans which you can put in the diswhasher, ours are good but not dishwasher proof, which is v annoying...

Thank you Pannacotta, I'll google Global knives. And Sabatier, thanks tas.

Are Le Creuset as good as the price tag suggests? I want a huge casserole/crock pot so that I can make litres of soup to freeze, I haven't searched yet but I'd guess a LC one that size would be £100+...worth it?

yes, def worth it, we have a few. sometimes at tescos [hmm I know] or tkmaxx, or check out amazon for god deals

Ooh, thanks hana, will try Tescos! I am getting excited at the thought of my crapola cooking turning into some gourmet creation with the purchase of new goods

My Le Creuset has lasted 20 years plus, and mils has lasted even longer..... that's what I buy when I can afford it. I can make bolognaise sauce for 24 in my big pot, so it's great for batch cooking pasta sauces, casseroles, soup etc. My saucepans can't go in the dishwasher as they have the wooden handles, and they don't make them like that any more, but I think the black handled ones can go in.

I buy my knives at Tesco and Waitrose, but they have to feel right in my hand, so I don't have a matched set of cooking knives, as I like to feel the weight and the balance before I but knives. It's a personal thing.

IKEA have similar to Le Creuset, but it wasn't in Volcanic Orange so I didn't buy it! Lakeland are wirth looking at for all kitchen bits, and Good Food mag has Le Creuset offers sometimes.

My oldest Le Creuset pot is 25 and still looks great (well the outside does) so def worth the money!

(I wouldn't get one of those soppy pastel ones though, I can't see them performing as well)

Sabatier knives and Circulon pans!