a very large parcel was on the doorstep

We had been invited to lunch with neighbours over the garden wall and scurried back under our umbrellas, hoping to stay reasonably dry. When we spotted the large box by the door, I knew exactly what was inside!

Thankfully, more than the yards and yards of plastic packaging!

You see, whilst I was sticking photographs on the walls of Denman College, my Hero was entertaining a man with a large and very noisy set of electric drills. He was cutting a slightly larger rectangle in our granite worktop and fitting a new hob. Our old one had been shutting down gradually, losing one or two small functions at first but then becoming increasingly annoying and resistant to control. Our cooking class at Miele was a grand opportunity to see what was on offer and having chosen, ordered and organised the fitting, the day finally came. As you can see, the fitter took a great deal of care to enclose the dust!

I had been fairly relaxed when we chose the induction hob, thinking that the majority of our saucepans in regular use would still work and the three Prestige copper-bottomed pans we’d had as wedding presents 38 years ago didn’t owe us anything. But when the time came to test them, all but two very large pans and a couple of Le Creuset casseroles were redundant. All our old pans found a new home with a university student friend and the search began for replacements.

No time to look around before we were heading off to Switzerland, but I thought that whilst there, I’d take a look for ideas. Miele’s Home Economist had recommended Le Creuset brand but looking at them online left my eyes watering at the prices. My mind reflected on the conversation we had when we were looking to replace our cutlery - perhaps it’s time to get married again and set up a wedding present list?! But if we were to buy pans which were to last as long as the last lot, then maybe better to spend a little more for decent quality? Clearly, this was going to be an investment.

On my way back to the train after my gallery visit, I popped into Globus, a favourite Zürich department store to take a look around the cookware there. I immediately spotted these smart black pans, thinking immediately that I preferred the double handles to the single handled design of the Le Creuset. I loved the dark metallic finish and stood admiring them as the assistant came over to help and offer advice.

She spoke highly of the brand - she had one of them herself and loved it. They were heavy and effective conductors of heat, perfect for induction hobs (I’d already dredged the nether regions of my brain for the German word for “hob”, having discovered that “induction” is simply the same word pronounced in German - “in-duck-ti-ohn”. My German was further put to the test as she explained the manufacturing process to create a non-porous inside surface, in which one might use metal tools without doing any damage. She disappeared in search of a brochure for me and whilst she was gone, I picked one up and took a close look. Beautiful. Loved them. I took a few pictures to show my hero and thanked her profusely for the information and helpful advice.

As I walked off, I stood a while and wondered if I should return and buy the smallest milk pan as a kind of sample? I took a quick look at the price list she’d given me and seeing it was something in the order of CHF130 - around £100 - I thought I’d wait. After all, these pans were made in Germany, and would surely be a better price in Euros.

Well, yes they were. As soon as we arrived home I did a search for the brand and found the five piece set for a great deal less than the Swiss price. Not only that, but if I signed up for the newsletter, I could get another 10% discount. Postage and packing was included in the price too.

Sold.