THE LE CREUSET EDIT

Over the summer GB & I set the goal to begin looking for our first home at the end of 2025.

I have a rose-tinted vision of a Beatrix Potter cottage in the Yorkshire countryside in mind & decided to curate a list of things that I’d need/like to have for my home to channel my excitement (more seriously, I think it helps me feel a little more in control of what is such a huge milestone).

ALL THINGS LE CREUSET

I’m sure you’re all already aware of Le Creuset, especially their enamelled cast iron cookware.

If not, they’re a French brand that were the first to pioneer enamelled cast-iron - basically exceptional quality cookware that is non-toxic & easily maintained. They’re also known for their wonderful heat retention.

My parents had a blue set when I was growing up & they have always been a staple in their kitchen - not surprising considering they’re practically indestructible & have a lifetime guarantee.

Over the last few months I have become a bit of a Le Creuset enthusiast, scouring through eBay & looking for sales.

CAST IRON

My first purchase was a ‘shallow casserole’ pan, essentially a sauté pan.

I’ve had a picture of one of the limited edition olive prints saved to my Pinterest for years & jumped at the chance to get one I stumbled across on eBay a few months ago. It’s 30cm so can hold as much or as little as needed & is so beautiful I’m kind of tempted to keep it on the hob to double as decor!

Everything I’ve read about the health effects & longevity of non-stick pans (e.g. toxic fumes, chemical leaching & flaking) put me off wanting to get one, but I was concerned about the constant & specific maintenance cast iron pans require.

Enter the perfect compromise: enamelled cast iron. You use & wash them just like non-stick but don’t have to worry about any of the chemicals. In my honest experience I’ve found they’re not quite 100% non-stick, but with a little oil it’s near as anything. I’ve read that you can actually ‘season’ (coat in oil & heat on high) your enamel monthly to make it even more non stick.

I also picked up a small 20cm casserole pot in the Black Friday sale. It’s a flower shaped pot in their yellow ‘mimosa’ colour. Had I not seen this in person I would never have purchased it as I normally dislike ‘mimosa’, but I’ve noticed that Le Creuset’s cast iron colours are often a lot more muted than their stoneware equivalents & in actual fact the pot is a rather soft yellow. I plan on getting a larger casserole pot to complete the set.

For complete transparency, I do also plan on purchasing some steel pots & pans, as well as potentially a tin-lined vintage copper saucepan (the OG of the non-stick) as cast iron is not great for quick temperature changes (ie for fish) & takes a while to warm up (not so great for boiling water for veg/pasta).

STONEWARE

Le Creuset also make crockery & baking dishes in stoneware (clay).

I’ll admit I’m not 100% keen on their baking dishes as I prefer glass - I find it sticks less & is therefore much easier to clean. It’s also far cheaper (you can almost always find my preferred Pyrex ones in TKMaxx & can get lids for them so they can double as storage for leftovers) & lighter. Having said this I have received a few as very generous gifts & they do look lovely.

I do, however, love their crockery. Their mugs are lovely & come in a variety of sizes from 100 ml espresso to 350ml ‘proper’ mugs. I have 8 of the ‘proper’ mugs, half in ‘cotton’ & the rest in ‘rose’, ‘bluebell’, ‘chambray’ & ‘bamboo’. I love that they don’t have a pattern on them, I think it makes them timeless & also means they won’t clash with any future kitchen theme. I will note that the ‘cotton’ mugs have a lighter coloured interior than the other mugs but I don’t mind it. I I was able to get mine on sale from Potter’s Cookshop; As an aside, I love this website - they're a small British family business, often have sales & excellent customer service.

I’ve also purchased their ‘Grand Teapot’ in the colour ‘cotton’. They seem to have discontinued this colour but I bought mine on eBay for £30 in perfect condition & there were many others on there.

My family are all tea lovers & thus a large teapot is an absolute essential for any get-together. I love the size (1.2L!!) of the Le Creuset one & the way it matches the mugs. I’m weirdly picky about teapots, for some reason I just don’t like the classic shape but wasn't keen on any of the modern ones. I feel this one manages to look both traditional & sleek.

I like their milk & sugar set but haven’t been able to find one in ‘cotton’ yet. I don’t think this is a complete essential but they would be lovely to complete the little set I’ver collected. I had wanted the salt & pepper shaker in ‘cotton’, which have been discontinued entirely, for months & was able to snag them for just £20 on eBay the other day so I’m hoping for a similar outcome!

EDIT: the shakers were actually off-white so the search continues

I’m going to hold off getting a butter dish for now - I do think the Le Creuset ones are lovely but I’d love to get one that goes with my kitchen colour, which I of course don’t know yet! I’m also (surprise, surprise!) quite picky about butter dishes & genuinely think most of them are hideous! It might seem shallow but it’s important for me to like how my things look as I find I’ll actively avoid using something if I don’t like how it looks.

My parents have it in grey to match their other appliances which is also a nice way of doing it. The spoon rest is also on my radar.

Additionally, I’m exercising patience for the Coupe Dinnerware Set in ‘white’. I love the subtle design around the edge that can tie-in with my other things & know they’ll be amazing quality. My only gripe is that the set only comes with 4 of each plate etc so if you ever plan on hosting you’re realistically looking at 2 sets… £648. As much as I love them, that is insane. So far I’ve never seen them go on sale or listed on eBay. I’ll hold out until we actually move & hope patience is rewarded!

EDIT: I have read a few reviews that mention the dinnerware scratches easily, so I’ll probably look elsewhere in the end.

I can’t believe I forgot to mention ramekins! I truly believe these are one of the most underrated pieces of kitchenware. We use them for everything from holding old teabags, baking individual desserts & mixing glazes, to even cleaning jewellery. They are just so versatile! They come in either 100ml to 200ml & I hope to get a set of both. I don’t love the set Le Creuset offer (the rainbow colours are a bit too bright) so will probably mix and match the ones they sell individually. Aside from liking that they’ll go with the rest off my crockery, the newer Le Creuset ones also stack for easy storage.

At last, we’ve reached the end! I hadn’t anticipated on this post being so long but I kept thinking of more & more as I was writing. If you have any questions or constructive feedback please email me on @rosesandreverieinfo@gmail.com

Thank you so much for reading!

P.S. Can’t wait to live with you GB <3 <3