What are the best pieces from a 157-piece Le Creuset set?

Do you remember last October when Costco offered a huge set of Le Creuset for about $4,500 USD? Jane and I had questions about who would purchase this massive set, where they would store all 157 pieces, and whether they would use them all. We now have some answers, as Food and Wine recently interviewed one woman who received the set as a gift, and she shared her impressions after living with the cookware and dinnerware for a year.

The husband of Valerie Cervantes in Ames, Iowa, bought her the entire set for Christmas last year, and she posted a viral TikTok about it. Valerie, a stay at home mom of two, basically ditched all of her previous cookware and dinnerware in favor of the Le Creuset, and has no regrets. She especially loves the pasta bowls, which she uses as serving bowls. One of her favorite pieces is one you wouldn’t think of as being essential Le Creuset – the crepe pan.

While that might be an unexpected choice, it is not surprising that the large Dutch oven is one of Valerie’s most used pans, replacing her crock pot. A photo of Valerie making crepes is featured in the Food and Wine article, and you can see a number of LC pieces on her countertop. She has found a home for every piece in the set, which may seem impossible, but if you are replacing nearly all of your other cookware and dinnerware, it makes the task easier. Also, it looks like Valerie’s kitchen is amply-sized to accommodate all of the pieces.