Pots and pans

Friends are mystified and colleagues appalled. The highlight of my Paris trip was a visit to E. Dehillerin, a no-frills bartan ki dukan in the 1st arrondissement, which has been selling fine cookware since 1820. The floor-to-ceiling shelves lining the narrow aisles were chock-ablock with stuff. I was going potty. My best buy was this inspiring copper saucepan by Mauviel, simply the best money can buy. Of course, at 103 euros, it&rsquos not cheap. The haul includes a copper sauté pan, ramekins, and a cocotte&mdasha traditional enamelled cast iron pot which locks in the flavours. The crime reporter from Trivandrum accompanying me couldn&rsquot get over it. It&rsquos criminal, he concluded.