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Le Creuset, the formal French cookware company, has become the latest item coveted by both millennials and Generation Z. As the luxury brand takes over TikTok “For You Pages” and Instagram feeds, people everywhere are scrambling to purchase the latest Le Creuset collection drop — in some trendy color like “shallot” — to add to their #kitchengoals.
But like many items that become a must-have overnight, it seems that some customers don’t actually know how to use them.
In a now-viral video posted to TikTok, a user named Lindsey shared footage of her shattered Le Creuset stoneware baking dish. According to the clip — which has been viewed more than one million times since it was posted this week — the TikToker attempted to cook dinner with the baking dish on the stove top, seemingly unaware that Le Creuset stoneware must not come in direct contact with a gas burner.
“Was cooking a lovely dinner when my brand new Le Creuset decided to explode and catch my stove on fire,” Lindsey wrote over the TikTok, along with the caption: “Sooo does anyone know the @Le Creuset customer service number.”
However, it didn’t take long for thousands of commenters to inform her about the correct Le Creuset item she should have used.
“Stoneware should never be used on the stovetop, it can’t handle direct heat,” one TikToker wrote.
“That’s like trying to boil water on the stove with a glass bowl,” another person quipped.
For those who are unaware, Le Creuset stoneware — such as a casserole dish, a pie dish, or a lasagna dish — are only intended for cooking or baking in an oven, broiler, or microwave. Meanwhile, the cookware company’s line of expensive enameled cast iron — like Dutch ovens, skillets, or saucepans — are compatible with all cooktops and oven-safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
The difference between Le Creuset’s line of offerings may come as no surprise to seasoned professionals, but for amateur home chefs who are testing out their first ever Le Creuset purchase, these kitchen mistakes may happen.
Lindsey clarified in the comment section that her brand new Le Creuset stoneware didn’t come inside a box with directions, but that didn’t stop people from furthering the debate on X/Twitter about Le Creuset’s purely aesthetic popularity.
“We’re officially at the point in Le Creuset oversaturation where people are trying to use stoneware baking dishes on their stoves,” said one user on the platform, along with a reposted clip of Lindsey’s TikTok video. “I don’t think these are informed consumers.”
“Le Creuset craze has definitely gone a bit too far now!” someone else agreed, while a third person wrote: “Probably shouldn’t be upgrading to Le Creuset if you don’t know the basics. Ceramic doesn’t go on the stove.”
The Independent’s Helen Coffey argues that Le Creuset has become a status symbol as the ultimate aspirational bit of homeware for Gen Z and millennials. The French company, which was founded in 1925, offers its best-selling Dutch oven online for anywhere between $260 to $625. A rectangular casserole dish costs between $108 and $140, while a cast iron skillet is priced from $136 to $250.
Despite hundreds of dupes and affordable alternatives available to purchase, owning a Le Creuset is synonymous with an “adulthood aesthetic.”
“It may just be a casserole dish but, for those of a certain age, it feels inherently imbued with the power to transform the owner into a completely different kind of person,” Coffey writes.
“The kind of person who can throw together a perfect beef bourguignon, roast potatoes with confit garlic, or honey-glazed apple galette on a whim; the kind of person who invites friends over for a glass of wine and sophisticated conversation in their immaculately clean kitchen. The kind of person, in other words, who actually has their s*** together.”