MY LIFE IN A POT

I grew up in South Africa and studied agricultural science, then spent a year farming. I wanted to travel so I switched to accounting and administration and worked all over Europe and in Canada. I returned to SA and became an adviser to a family business. I turned it into a profitable enterprise and sold it to the Prestige Group in London. I worked for Prestige from 1981 to 1987, during which time I tried to buy the iconic French brand Le Creuset for them. When the deal was blocked by international politics, I resigned and purchased Le Creuset on my own. Twentyfive years later, we have grown from one subsidiary to nearly 40, and from one companyowned store to over 200 worldwide.

I live in the Swiss mountains but often travel to our foundry in Fresnoy-le-Grand in France.

I am a keen cook. My speciality is pheasant in one of our oval cast-iron casseroles. Another of my many favourites is lamb shanks cooked in our 35cm oval casserole over a low heat for three to four hours. We have hundreds of designs and sizes, so there is a product for all styles of cuisine. The most unusual use I’ve seen for a Le Creuset product is our tagine lid being used as a light shade. This has since become a feature in many stores around the world.

Cherry red is my favourite Le Creuset colour, but all our colours have a place in the home and more and more they are being mixed together.

My favourite design in the range is our large Danish oven.