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Pentole ss Pans


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This might belong better in the General Food or Cooking, but one of the great, high end stainless steal cookware lines available in the UK, by Italian company Pentole, is no more, as apparently the parent company is going out of business.

When after years of using flimsy rubbish my mum finally splashed out on some decent pots and pans, she went with divertimenti, and 15 years later (part of my inheritence) they're as good as new. I'm very sad indeed to see them go. The Divertimenti in Fulham Road is just selling the last of its stock.

Does anyone know of any other sources?

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

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"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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Maybe no consolation, but my favourite pan in the world is an "ambidextrous" milk pan (a pouring lip on both sides). It's a 2.5 litre "milk/sauce" pan according to the website, though mine looks taller and deeper than the one in the photo. Anyway it is large enough to make soup or polenta for two; boil water for pasta for one; make a load of sauce, etc.

It is sturdy, heats evenly, and best of all, it's lined with some kind of magical non-stick, scratch-resistant material such that anything you make in it - sugar syrup, polenta - anything sticky-goopy-or-hard-to-clean - will dry to a "skin" and *peel right off* when dry. All you have to do is give it a quick wipe with soapy water and it's ready to go again.

I bought it at some kind of trade show at Olympia about four years ago, and I remember thinking 'wow, that's expensive' (though I don't remember the cost, it's now £61) and the guy said 'lifetime guarantee, money back if you don't love it' and I do.

http://www.runcookware.co.uk/

Edited by magnolia (log)
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first the bad news:

virtually sold out everywhere, cucinaitalia have a few things on their website but not much. Divertimenti sold out and old importers nothing of note.

then some good news:

however david mellor (davidmellor.com) had a last delivery yesterday :biggrin:

then some more bad news:

you may find if you've had them a while as i have, that they don't stock the same sizes, mine were 18, 22, 26 and they now stock 16, 20, 24.

However i took it as an excuse to stock up on some new sizes!

cheers

gary

you don't win friends with salad

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I called the London Shop (Sloane Square (0207) 730-4259) they say the delivery is in their warehouse, but should be on the shelves on Tuesday.

Anyone interested in meeting me there?

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

Flickr Food

"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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Maybe no consolation, but my favourite pan in the world is an "ambidextrous" milk pan (a pouring lip on both sides).

well, I have just ordered me one of these. DO YOU SEE THE POWER OF EGULLET?? (or maybe just Maggie :raz: )

Fi

Fi Kirkpatrick

tofu fi fie pho fum

"Your avatar shoes look like Marge Simpson's hair." - therese

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I actually don't like my Le Pentole pan (a sauteuse) as much as my Cristel pans:

http://www.cucinadirect.com/go/Product_6723.html

My reason is the big lip on the Le Pentole, which makes it difficult to pour the contents. The Cristel pans seem to be as good quality as the Pentle and again you buy the lids separately (and also the handle - which makes it easier to fit them it the dishwasher)

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Since I saw all this going on about Pentole.. I went to my local store here in Florence, and they said, yes there are problems with the mother company ( seems to be a lot of that going on right now) But.. they have the pots.. and there is a sale on the starter set!

Would probably be just as cheap to pop on over on a cheap flight and come shopping!

The shop I looked at is Le Menagere on Via Ginori.. they have email but no website..

Edited by divina (log)
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mine arrived yesterday!

after the confusion over sizes it appears that my sizes are standard. For reasons best known to themselves you measure then from the inside edge where the pan lid sits.

Anyway rather than 2 new sized sauce pans i have 2 to match my existing pans, a 20cm saucepan and a spaghetti set.

think these additions should keep me going for a while.....

gary

you don't win friends with salad

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  • 2 weeks later...
Maybe no consolation, but my favourite pan in the world is an "ambidextrous" milk pan (a pouring lip on both sides). It's a 2.5 litre "milk/sauce" pan according to the website, though mine looks taller and deeper than the one in the photo. Anyway it is large enough to make soup or polenta for two; boil water for pasta for one; make a load of sauce, etc.

It is sturdy, heats evenly, and best of all, it's lined with some kind of magical non-stick, scratch-resistant material such that anything you make in it - sugar syrup, polenta - anything sticky-goopy-or-hard-to-clean - will dry to a "skin" and *peel right off* when dry. All you have to do is give it a quick wipe with soapy water and it's ready to go again.

I bought it at some kind of trade show at Olympia about four years ago, and I remember thinking 'wow, that's expensive' (though I don't remember the cost, it's now £61) and the guy said 'lifetime guarantee, money back if you don't love it' and I do.

http://www.runcookware.co.uk/

the nice lady at Run has just called me to say they are having a half price sale, ends tomorrow, so hurry hurry if you want to buy anything.

Fi

Fi Kirkpatrick

tofu fi fie pho fum

"Your avatar shoes look like Marge Simpson's hair." - therese

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  • 5 weeks later...

The latest David Mellor mailing has Le Pentole back again:

our most popular range of Italian stainless steel cookware, temporarily unavailable, now back in stock

Prices as high as ever: the 20 cm 3 litre casserole sans lid is £62.50. :sad:

clb

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  • 2 years later...

gah!!! must resist!!

It was this thread a couple of years ago that sucked me into egullet and then made me melt my credit card as a I hunted high and low for a few le pentole pieces!

I did hear about its renaissance last year I think, but would need to get a bigger kitchen to fit in any more kit!

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Since my new thread has for some reason been removed (I would guess duplication of an earlier thread, but who knows), I thought that I would repost my question here. I am looking to invest in some new pans that I would hope will be with me for a significant part of my life. I currently have some Meyer Analon pans which are great, but despite the sales pitch that they are fine with metal utensils, having seen others who have ruined their pans using metal in them, I have never gone down this route, but this can be quite restrictive. I am therefore looking for some advice/recommendations for a new saute pan, omelette pan and frying pan, as well as any advice as to whether opting for copper-based pans is worth the extra money.

Any words of wisdom greatly appreciated!

If a man makes a statement and a woman is not around to witness it, is he still wrong?

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I think you'll find your thread here in the general section.

As for advice, drive or rent a car and go to Paris, to E Dehillerin and buy at half the price.

Edited by MobyP (log)

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

Flickr Food

"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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Thanks for that MobyP, I spotted it about an hour after I posted that on here! Looks like I am going to dip my toe in with some Mauviel Copper pans for the tidy sum of £600!

If a man makes a statement and a woman is not around to witness it, is he still wrong?

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  • 1 year later...

having just fitted an induction hob i am having an unusual problem with my not insubstantial collection of le pentole, essentially some work and some don't!

out of interest has anyone else had issues with induction hobs? For the record their advertising blurb says they do work with induction.

you don't win friends with salad

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I love my pentole pans - by far the hottest pans I own. Thermally they outstrip the copper and iron. But the design/build quality of the handles for the saute pans is just awful. Both the handles have come loose from their solder and dropped off.

If anyone from pentole is reading this, I would appreciate a fix.

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

Flickr Food

"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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yes, my saute pan handle came off and now has an industrial weld on it courtesy of the local metal basher.

Although they have a 'lifetime' guarantee the distributor has changed so frequently that the current distributor will not honour the warranty prior to 2006 they have offered 15% off new pans as a gesture but not addressed the induction issue.

My man at peter maturi reckons that the issue with the pans is that although the advetising blurb suggests it is a layer of copper between the stainless steel it is in reality just 'flecked' through the metal and thats why the magnetism varies.

you don't win friends with salad

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  • 2 years later...

Thought I'd bump up this thread now people may have had more experience with induction. We have a large collection of Le Pentole which we love, but have just made the big decision to go with an induction cooktop. The reason the decision was big was exactly because we did the magnet test on our Le P and it failed miserably, and investing in new pots is an expensive business if you have our champagne tastes. Now, however, we are seeing that Le P is being advertised as induction-friendly.

Has anyone had any experience with Pentole and induction since Gary in 2008? Most of our pots are from the 90s, but one was purchased last year (new manufacturer).

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... The reason the decision was big was exactly because we did the magnet test on our Le P and it failed miserably, and investing in new pots is an expensive business if you have our champagne tastes. Now, however, we are seeing that Le P is being advertised as induction-friendly.

... Most of our pots are from the 90s, but one was purchased last year (new manufacturer).

Since one would have expected the new pan (if only that one) to be OK for induction, I have to wonder about the testing.

It is ONLY the pan base that contacts the stove that you should be testing.

Magnets will not stick to the sides of many "induction-friendly" pans - and that doesn't matter at all, as long as the base takes the magnet.

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch ... you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

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