Le Creuset Cassis range on offer @ John Lewis

Haffiana

Hmm, the thing is, the cheaper stuff ISN'T the same. It isn't just marketing. I am not talking about enamel quality or durability; the cheap ones can be equally good in this respect, although some cheap ones have shocking thin enamel which will wear through very quickly.

The major difference between Le Creuset and other cast iron brands is in the thickness of the cast iron. Le Creuset is a thin wall cast iron, and this means that the pans are relatively easy to handle and lift, which makes them a joy to use. Some of the cheaper pans are much thicker, and an absolute pain to lift even when empty.

Pitlanepiglet

I've used all sorts, some of it is probably 20 plus years old and I'm yet to be convinced that there is much difference in the quality of the good stuff. As said some of it is really poor but once you get to a decent standard it all seems the same to me.

I can't use our Le Creuset saucepans as I can't lift them but I don't have that problem with any of the casserole type dishes, either LC or the other makes.

Requiem

getridofmydebt wrote: »

We had the volcanic orange colour as you could get a whole range of other kitchen ware in the same colour.

This was an issue for me when picking Cassis, the fact that it wasn't available on the full range of items (such as the storage jars, tea set etc.), and I really wanted to aim on getting a full set over the years so didn't know if I'd have to choose another colour. I emailed LC (10th Feb) to ask if they planned on expanding Cassis to incorporate certain other items.

This was their condensed response:

Thank you for your email. We’re delighted to hear that you like the Cassis range. It only launched last Monday so to hear that it is already “a favourite” is great news.
Whilst it is impossible to say for certain what the future holds, the answer to your question is that we are very confident in the colour (hence launching in stoneware and cast iron) – it is both an on trend colour but also something which has traditional and longevity. Reaction from consumers is already very promising and we feel confident in its longevity – and forecast that it may even be more popular than teal (which is now a top seller). The usual pattern of product development is to expand the range within 12 months and at this moment although we cannot confirm pieces (i.e. the products you are specifically looking for), but it looks likely.

HTH anyone else who is in love with the purple colour but put off by the small range

madget_2

Requiem - I also contacted them about the small range of Cassis. I've bought the utensil jar (it was £10 on the JL site, but I see that it has now been put up to £14 and is out of stock!) I would love to buy 3 of the storage jars in Cassis, too, and wanted to know whether they would become available in future. Their reply was this:

Unfortunately we are not privy to product/range development information on the helpline so I really don't know if there are plans to extend the Cassis range to include storage jars.

As the Cassis range was only launched at the start of this month I think it is probably too early for our development team to make any decisions about potential future additions to the range of shapes available - they need to guage reaction to the colour before they can plan further.

The best I can suggest to see how the range progresses is to keep an eye on our website - [URL="mhtml:{2E0D225D-CC82-4BB3-B6CE-765947D47BBA}mid://00000046/!x-usc:http://www.lecreuset.co.uk/cassis/"]http://www.lecreuset.co.uk/cassis/[/URL] - where you can find out information about the range and what items are included.

The reply you got suggests that plenty of other people have been asking the same kind of question, and what they told you sounds much more hopeful!

I think I shall probably buy some very cheap storage jars to use in the meantime for when my new kitchen is finished and await the real possibility of Cassis ones being produced within the next year or so.