As part of the launch of Le Creuset’s latest colour Cool Mint, we asked you to share your stories about your favourite Le Creuset piece. For the month of October we swam in tales of engagements, house warming gifts, study motivations and treasured cooking moments with mums and every single story made us feel so cherished to be part of a community like yours. Here’s how this competition played out.
We would dearly love to send each and every one of you a little something, but our random number generator picked only one email from the many received. Here’s the Le Creuset story behind Jocelyn van Eeden’s lucky entry:
“Planning your life with the person you love is one of the most exciting times one can experience, but what makes it even more exciting is beginning your plan with a Le Creuset coffee pot. It provides the perfect start to everyday, knowing that seamless coffee will be poured into my pre-heated mug, and given to me in bed. This moment is better than any five star hotel experience, but that’s because I’ve never been to one :P. The worst part of the story is that the love of my life lives thousands of kilometres away, sad yes, but the best part is when that deep, Marseille Blue Coffee Plunger is placed out on the shelf, I know he will be here in no time. Not only is it a wonderful reminder, but it’s also a memory holder. Saving up for it together marked the first team effort produced in a purchase, making our Le Creuset item a memory that encircles our lives starting together. What happiness and special memories we have, we would even go as far as to say “it’s all thanks to Le Creuset!”
Congratulations Jocelyn, you’re the lucky winner of a R 5000 cool mint hamper from Le Creuset!
Le Creuset Cool Mint hamper consists of
Signature 3.3L Round Cast Iron Cocotte, 22cm
Signature Square Skillet Grill, 26cm
Stoneware Oval pasta/Salad bowl, 3.2L
Batter Bowl, 1.9L
4 x Cappuccino Mugs, 200ml
We’ll be in touch with you soon to get a delivery address for your cool mint prize. Congratulations once again!
Here’s a selection of more wonderful stories behind your lasting, cherished Le Creuset kitchen tools.
“My Le Creuset story started 25 years ago when my husband and I received our first Le Creuset Cocotte as a wedding gift. Having been brought up in an Italian household, where food is central to family life, our pot soon became the favourite and most well used piece in our kitchen. However, working and living in hotels meant that one year into our marriage a move from Joburg to Bloem required us to place our belongings in storage and not wanting to see our beloved pot go unused I entrusted its care to my father. Some months on when we returned to Joburg I went past my parent’s home to collect some of our belongings and seeing the complete joy the pot had brought to my father, I did not have the heart to ask for it back. Seventeen years later after his passing, the pot found its way back to our stovetop and every time I make his lemon rosemary chicken I cannot help but smile at the amazing life this pot has lived, the memories we have created with it and the satisfaction I feel when my family sits down to a meal served from our Le Creuset pot.” – Silvana Pearson
“I thought I’d share the story of my very cool Granny (who just turned 97 by the way!) giving me my favorite Le Creuset item for my 30th birthday – she gave me this gorgeous heart shaped dish with a note inside which read, “The two best things in life are love and food – savour both”. Great advice from the most inspiring person I’ve ever met!” – Kirsten Norris
“A few months ago, whilst I was in my pie baking phase, I bought a stunning Le Creuset non-stick springform flat tin. After my second tasty creation, my beloved boyfriend treated himself to a slice. In true kitchen nightmare style and with knife in hand, he unknowingly left a nasty scratch on the base of the tin. Needless to say, upon discovering this disaster, I was highly displeased. My poor boyfriend felt terrible about his deed and bought me a Le Creuset voucher to ease my mood. I happily went to my nearest Le Creuset store and with the help of the very friendly staff, purchased a Cast Iron Round Skillet Grill. I chose orange out of pure love for my ginger dog and we have since delighted our taste buds with perfectly cooked steak, grilled sandwiches and everything in between. Le Creuset products are simply amazing!” – Marie Mostert
“My husband is terrible at getting me gifts. So I came up with a solution last year; I will put together a wishlist on Yuppiechef that he can choose from each time he wants to get me something. I was pleasantly surprised when he got me my 1st Le Creuset piece. It was a red grill pan and it was love at first sight. I grilled everything on it, it was my best item in my kitchen for healthy meals while trying to lose the baby weight.
Then tragically, last December our house caught fire and we lost our whole kitchen…except my Le Creuset grill pan. It lost the handle in the fire but my pan was still intact, just needed a little scrubbing. We had to move to a flat while our home was being rebuilt and I packed our few remaining items and my Le Creuset pan. We hosted a big family Christmas dinner with my Le Creuset grills as star dishes.
When we rebuilt my kitchen I bought all my new appliances to match my red pan; I am always on a lookout for pieces to match and complement my pan. My grill pan was the only thing that was familiar when all around us was strange and new.” – Nozipho Mashinini
“My most cherished Le Creuset item would be my sunshine yellow-coloured honey pot. In the months leading up to Christmas, my sister and I ooh-ed and aah-ed over the many Le Creuset items and both put it on our Christmas wishlists.
On Christmas morning, we both couldn’t help but notice that we each had a wrapped item under the tree of the exact same shape from one another. We decided to open the gifts at the same time and found it only too funny when we realised that we had managed to buy each other the exact same honey pot from Le Creuset.
Whenever I’m drizzling honey over my yoghurt and almonds or adding a spoonful to some delicious crunchies, I always think of my sister and our shared love of baking.” – Melissa Penny
“Turning 50 a few years back and besides being given a party, what present would Dad like for his special birthday? That was my dilemma! A set of golf clubs…already have one..a new set now would not improve my game. Clothes, book, a new television set.. No! I wanted a Le Creuset Marseille Blue Pot. What will the family say or enquire about my gift? I have been a closet a “closet-budding” cook for a few years and coming from a family of ardent female cooks whose domain was the kitchen…dare any man intrude! Would this be the source of sarcastic comments for years to come? I did not care. The traditional blue colour had the manly imagery of a French cook, beret, striped shirt and a luxurious moustache. I wanted to be the South African version to emulate this French cook in use of the correct apparatus and hopefully resemble his classic French dishes.
Over the years I have added to my Le Creuset collection preferring, to the disdain of my family, a choice of varied colours. The quality of the product, the vivid colours over the years grants me the confidence and although the fancied meal may not always meet to the family’s expectation, I will cook with no other!” – Mergalin Pillay
“After living at home in Durban with my parents and siblings for 25 years, I decided to move to Cape Town. A new city, a new job, and living alone made me miss my family more than ever.
So I decided to buy myself four Le Creuset mugs (from Yuppiechef!) that represent each of them – cassis for Dad, palm for my mum, rose for my sister and carribean for my brother. Every morning I have my coffee in the mug of whom I happen to be thinking about, and it makes me feel like I have a little part of them with me :)” – Tasneem Motala
“My Le Creuset story involves my son that almost didn’t happen….I had my first son (with great difficulty) 15 years ago having struggled to conceive up until then. I had many tests and treatments done but nothing worked. Having PCOS and endometriosis made it next to impossible to get pregnant, at some stage I became really ill and during a visit with my gynae we decided on a hysterectomy. Everything was arranged but when the hospital phoned me for confirmation I got scared and cancelled. I battled with the aches and pains for about 2 years before I felt it starting to get worse. Then my husband’s aunties reassured me that having a hysterectomy isn’t that bad as they had it done and they were fine. Having plucked up the courage to have the procedure done this time, I went to go see my gynae. During a pelvic exam she started screaming and called my husband from the waiting room (with knots in my stomach I thought she couldn’t tell me that I have cancer, so she needed him there) but she was showing him little hands and feet. Being shocked my brain hadn’t registering what she was saying, then it finally sank in and we were elated. So yes, after 14 years we were finally pregnant. Being super excited we goggled and watched every program on babies. They had a program on about celebrity ‘push presents’ and they showed Beyonce’s huge “blue diamond” ring that Jay Z gave her for the birth of their daughter (Blue Ivy) and I laughed and said “yeah we should be so lucky if we ever got anything. Any way time went by and my son was born. He was such a perfect and healthy baby, I felt so blessed and excited. It had been a few days that we were home and then one afternoon my husband walked in with a big brown box and a huge grin. He gave it to me and gestured me to open it. Seeing the grin on his face I assumed he had bought something for the baby. As I opened the box I saw the Le Creuset box inside, I screamed with excitement and scared the baby. With a huge smile my husband said “here is your push present, I couldn’t afford a blue diamond so I got you this blue pot instead.” Believe me I couldn’t have been happier because it was something I had always wanted. As soon as Liam could sit I put him inside the pot and took a picture. So I am sending you this picture of two of my most valuable possessions.” – Anusha Pillay
“Today marks exactly one month since I married my best friend. For several reasons my wedding was the most special of special days. One of the most important reasons being that it was the first time I got to see my big brother in 7 years! I was blessed to have him walk me down the aisle and I will have that memory forever. My brother’s gift to my husband and I was money. When I asked my brother what he would like us to use the money for, he said “Make your life better, kid”.
I have always always wanted Le Creuset in my home and to be able to pass on useful items to my children one day. I have put a lot of thought into what will “make our lives better”…and I am still thinking about it, but one thing I did not need to think hard about was how much Le Creuset would make my life better!
So today I placed an order for my first item of my Le Creuset collection, a beautiful Cool Mint Stoneware dish! I cannot wait to use my ‘perfect for 2’ Cool Mint Dish, which will always remind me of my brother and his wish for my husband and I… Happy 1 month of Marriage to us!” – Shirley Hamlyn
“My daughter Grace is 7 years old and has learnt how to make French Toast. Her favorite frying pan to make it in is my Le Creuset pan and her granny has bought her the Le Creuset cloth handle protector to protect little hands! My husband bought the red pan for me for Valentine’s Day and I love the idea that one day I may pass the pan on to her when she leaves home and sets up her own kitchen!” – Keran Coetzer
Thanks to everyone who entered and for sharing your awesome stories, photos and memories with us. We’re currently hatching a plan to give your photos a home in the Yuppiechef Test Kitchen – so watch this space.
Sign up to our newsletters to stay in touch and be in the know when another great competition like this one comes along. Who knows? Next time it might just be you cooking in a new set of kitchenware.
No related posts.