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i=no (, ) is a French-Belgian maker of cookware. They are best known for producing enamelled cast-iron cookware. The company first manufactured their products in the town of Fresnoy-le-Grand in France in 1925, which are similar in function to a Dutch oven but with T-shaped handles. The company also makes many other types of cookware and bakeware, from fondue sets to tagines.
During World War II, Le Creuset began to focus on continually improving cast iron.
In 1957, Le Creuset purchased a competitor, Les Hauts Fourneaux de Cousances, and began producing items such as a grill and a fondue set.
In 1958, Raymond Loewy was commissioned to design a new streamlined casserole pot to target a younger generation, creating the "Coquelle".
The cookery writer Elizabeth David promoted Mediterranean cooking in the UK and was a Le Creuset promoter, particularly in her 1969 booklet 'Cooking with Le Creuset'. One of the colours of blue in the cookware range was created for her.
The current Le Creuset logo was introduced in 1970 as a symbolic representation of metal casting and moulding.
In the 1970s Enzo Mari designed distinctive Dutch ovens and saucepans with domed lids and typical handles. In the 1980s, JC Barrault's "Futura" line was launched.
A Le Creuset Dutch oven is on display in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington DC as a part of the reproduction display of the kitchen of chef Julia Child. It has been widely reported to be her favorite cooking pot. (Specialist sources, however, hold that it was the Dutch oven of Le Creuset's less-remembered competitor Descoware that was her real favorite.)
The company was purchased by Paul van Zuydam in 1988.
In 1995, Le Creuset began exploring new product categories: stainless steel, stoneware, silicone, enamel on steel, textiles, and forged hard-anodized aluminum.
Le Creuset offers a variety of colours, ranging from bright (e.g., cherry, a gradated red) to muted (e.g., dune, a gradated off-white). Its discontinued colours include cobalt (gradated blue-violet), black onyx (solid black), kiwi (gradated light green), as well as slate, granite, cactus, and citron. In addition to their standard colours, Le Creuset partners with major kitchenware retail brands such as Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table to offer unique "exclusive" colours which are only available for purchase through their respective stores.
Le Creuset kitchenware gained new fans among social media users in 2020 as a high-value designer brand.
Le Creuset products that are not cast-iron may be made in other countries, such as China (accessories and silicone products), Thailand (kettles and ceramics), England (enamel cleaner), Portugal (stainless steel), and Eswatini (clay pots).
== Image gallery ==
Production
To manufacture their cast-iron cookware, the Le Creuset foundry uses standard sand casting methods. After hand-finishing, items are sprayed with at least two coats of Vitreous enamel. The Le Creuset Signature range of cast-iron cookware is coated in a minimum of three coats of enamel. The enamel becomes resistant to damage during normal use. Currently, all Le Creuset cast-iron cookware is still manufactured in the company's foundry in Fresnoy-le-Grand. The process was featured on BBC Two's Inside the Factory.
See also
External links
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