The origin of Le Creuset cast iron cookware

As many of you know, I am a true fan of the brand Le Creuset and its cast iron casseroles. They are an icon of French cuisine. cast iron is a material that was already used in Roman times to make cookware; and even today, with all the materials we have at our disposal, there is no other material as versatile, as good-looking, and with better heat retention.

Le Creuset has been making cast iron cookware since 1925. Two Belgian industrialists, Armand Desaegher (a casting specialist) and Octave Aubecq (an enameling specialist), met at the Brussels Fair. They decided to create a foundry workshop for various kitchen utensils. In 1925, Le Creuset was born and set up in Fresnoy-le-Grand, in northern France. It was a strategic position for the company, where the transport routes for the raw materials needed to make cast iron—iron, sand, and coal—intersected. That same year, the first casserole was born.

Over the years, Le Creuset has incorporated numerous innovations and technical advances. It also underwent a successful internationalization process driven by the popularization of French cuisine worldwide. Despite this evolution, Le Creuset continues to use delicate artisanal techniques and the same long forging and casting processes for its cookware.

To manufacture a casserole, a frying pan, a grill or any other Le Creuset cast iron piece, the sand molds that will give it the right shape are created first. The molds are fixed in place and the cast iron at 1000º, from a large cauldron (called 'creuset' in French), is poured into them. Once the iron cools, the mold is removed and the sand is recycled to make another mold, so we can say that no two pieces are exactly alike.

Before enameling begins, the piece is cleaned, inspected, and smoothed in a manual process to ensure a uniform surface for enameling. Each piece receives two coats of enamel at 840º. The first consists of a colorless enamel (the one we see on the top edge of a casserole) to improve the adhesion of the second coat. It then receives a second coat with the final color, both inside and out. This second coat vitrifies, producing the typical durable ceramic finish so characteristic of Le Creuset cocottes.

Using a Le Creuset cast iron piece, such as a casserole or a frying pan, is a pleasure and a complete culinary experience. It evokes the most traditional cooking, delivers excellent cooking results, and gives us confidence, having been made with respect for tradition and rigor, and in compliance with the strictest food-safety standards, making them completely safe for health and suitable for all types of foods. A testament to Le Creuset’s quality and craftsmanship is the lifetime warranty it offers on all its cast iron pieces.

For all these reasons, Le Creuset is the benchmark manufacturer for most chefs and cooking enthusiasts around the world. It is a brand that has been passed down from generation to generation (like good recipes!), so many of us have among our earliest culinary memories family meals around a Le Creuset casserole. Some lucky people have even inherited this utensil, as if it were a genuine treasure that has remained intact for generations.