Le Creuset is a premium Frenchcookwaremanufacturer best known for its colourfully-enameled cast-iron cookware "French ovens", also known as "cocottes" or "coquelles" and "sauce pans" or "casseroles". The company also makes many other types of cookware and bakeware, from fondue-sets to tagines.
History
Le Creuset was founded in Fresnoy-le-Grand, Aisne, Picardy at the crossroads of transportation routes for iron, coke, and sand. Armand Desaegher and Octave Aubecq opened the foundry in 1925. That same year, the first :Wiktionary:cocotte|cocotte was produced, laying the foundation for what is now an extensive range of cookware and kitchen utensils. The Le Creuset signature colour, Flame, was used for the first piece. With their new ability to pigment the enamel glaze, Desaegher and Aubecq imitated the intense orange hue of molten cast iron in a crucible. 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 the 1950s the designerRaymond Loewy introduced a futuristic type of cookware. 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. In 1995, Le Creuset began exploring new product categories: stainless steel, stoneware, silicone, enamel on steel, textiles and forged hard-anodized aluminium. The current Le Creuset logo was introduced in 1970 as a symbolic representation of metal casting and moulding. The company was purchased by Paul Van Zuydam in 1988. Le Creuset offers a variety of colours, from bright to muted. Its discontinued colours include cobalt, black onyx, kiwi, as well as slate, granite, cactus, and citron.
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 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. Le Creuset products that are not cast-iron may be made in other countries, such as China, Thailand, England, Portugal, and Swaziland.
