Le Creuset has a colourful southern Mediterranean swagger, although the original factory is still in Fresnoy-le-Grand, two hours north of Paris. Armand Desaegher met Octave Aubeq at a trade fair in 1925. One an enamellist, the other a metallist. What they brought to pots and pans was colour – the original red is called volcanic after the fire in the forge. The yellow first appeared in the 1960s. Marilyn Monroe’s set sold at auction for $25,300 in 1991. Elizabeth David popularized the blue range in her (not so popular) shop in Elizabeth Street, Pimlico in the 1970s. There is a 90 day returns and lifetime guarantee and, online even recipes to demonstrate handily which pan for which dish, even steak and chips. The slogan is sort of catchy: “Whatever you dream of making, Le Creuset makes it.” Made up.
