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Reviews & Guides · Kitchen & Dining

My Smithey No. 10 surprised me on its first cook

Reviewed: Smithey No. 10 Skillet, Villeroy & Boch Manufacture collection plates (shape and size unspecified)Regional reference: Smithey No. 10 Skillet (United States); Villeroy & Boch Manufacture collection (United States); Le Creuset Signature 6.5-Qt. Thyme Deep Round Dutch Oven (United States)

I used my Smithey No. 10 once and was surprised by the heat readings across the pan. I also share what stood out about my new kitchen pieces.

A kitchen countertop holds a dark wooden cutting board, stacked white plates, a lidded gray pot, a black wok with a wooden handle, and a bronze-colored skillet.
A dark end-grain cutting board with a light wood stripe and bow-tie inlay rests on the kitchen counter.
A thick, dark end-grain wooden cutting board with a narrow light-colored inlay across it sits on a granite kitchen counter. Two lidded stainless-steel containers and a utensil holder are behind it.
An overhead kitchen-prep photo shows bowls and trays of chopped vegetables, leafy greens, shrimp, raw chicken, and other ingredients arranged around two knives on a cutting board, with a pot of broth and a large bowl of cabbage at the back.
A white, broad-rimmed textured plate rests on the dark wooden cutting board with its light-colored inlay visible beneath.
A white plate of sliced cooked meat topped with chopped green herbs sits on a speckled stone countertop.
A large white plate with a textured surface rests on the dark kitchen counter.
A glossy, dark reddish-brown roasted duck sits on a white plate with green herb sprigs behind it, on a speckled stone countertop.
A dark metal frying pan with a long handle sits on the grate of a gas stovetop; the pan is empty.
Two browned steaks sear in foaming butter with garlic and herbs in a frying pan on a stovetop.
A dark, empty wok with a speckled interior and light wooden handle rests on a black gas stovetop.
A frying pan on a stovetop holds a glossy stir-fry of browned meat, orange pieces, and green pepper.
A dark olive-green Le Creuset pot with a ridged lid and gold knob sits on a gas stovetop.

High-performance, beautiful kitchen finds at very tempting prices.

  1. Bookmatched North American black-walnut cutting board from 茯阑家厨 (Photo 2)

    It’s already a workhorse I use every day, but the knife marks still can’t hide its beauty. The feel under the knife is slightly less pleasing than Larchwood’s, but it seems far more durable. The new suction-cup feet are especially stable.

  2. Villeroy & Boch Manufacture collection plates, Photos 6 and 8

    Beautiful and huge—so huge that my cabinet isn’t deep enough to close its doors. A new storage cabinet is on its way. But after seeing the duck breast in Photo 9, I felt not only reconciled to it but delighted.

  3. Smithey Ironware 10-inch cast-iron skillet, Photo 10

    I’ve only used it once, but I was already amazed by its heat retention and even heating. When the center reached 200 degrees, the area directly over the burner was only at 212. It made me wonder: is this cast iron, or is there aluminum sandwiched inside?

  4. Hokua Aluminum 30 cm one-piece cast-aluminum nonstick wok, Photo 13

    It heats up faster than carbon steel.

    It heats up faster than carbon steel.

    It heats up faster than carbon steel.

    I know using a nonstick pan for high-heat stir-frying is controversial. I’ll make a separate post about the particular advantages of a nonstick wok when home burners don’t put out enough heat.

  5. Le Creuset 6.5-quart deep enameled cast-iron pot, Photo 16

Crate & Barrel exclusive Thyme color.

I haven’t used it yet, but I can already imagine how satisfying it’ll be. My 4-quart enameled pot is too cramped when I cook a whole chicken or 1.5 jin of beef with a daikon radish; I often end up with a big pot of meat and only a couple of mouthfuls of broth. The 5.5-quart size is the sweet spot, but it’s rarely discounted, so I took advantage of a sale and went for the 6.5-quart.

Source: 速速补货费列罗 · Xiaohongshu · 2026-10-05 · 【厨具】最近新入手的一些厨房好物. Search this Chinese title in Xiaohongshu to find the original post.

Before You Buy

Models in your region

The owner identifies the skillet as a 10-inch Smithey. The US manufacturer’s classic No. 10 listing is the matching model reference; the account’s single cook is the owner’s experience, not a comparison of regional versions. The other official references below are collection- or product-level comparisons, not evidence that every pictured item has the same regional SKU.

Model in this review Related regional model What to know
Smithey Ironware No. 10 Skillet Smithey No. 10 Skillet (United States) The US listing identifies the classic No. 10, not the Chef 10. It specifies a 10-inch top diameter, 9-inch cooking surface and about 6.7-pound weight; those specifications do not verify the owner’s one-time heat readings.
Villeroy & Boch Manufacture collection plates Villeroy & Boch Manufacture collection (United States) The US collection reference describes premium-porcelain tableware, but the owner’s exact plate shape, size and SKU are unconfirmed. The cabinet-fit experience therefore cannot establish the dimensions of a particular US plate.
Le Creuset 6.5-Qt. Thyme Deep Round Dutch Oven Le Creuset Signature 6.5-Qt. Thyme Deep Round Dutch Oven (United States) Crate & Barrel identifies a 6.5-quart deep round enameled cast-iron pot in exclusive Thyme, matching the owner’s purchase description. The owner had not used it, so the comments describe capacity needs and purchase rationale, not cooking performance.
Model in this review
Smithey Ironware No. 10 Skillet
Related regional model
Smithey No. 10 Skillet (United States)
What to know
The US listing identifies the classic No. 10, not the Chef 10. It specifies a 10-inch top diameter, 9-inch cooking surface and about 6.7-pound weight; those specifications do not verify the owner’s one-time heat readings.
Model in this review
Villeroy & Boch Manufacture collection plates
Related regional model
Villeroy & Boch Manufacture collection (United States)
What to know
The US collection reference describes premium-porcelain tableware, but the owner’s exact plate shape, size and SKU are unconfirmed. The cabinet-fit experience therefore cannot establish the dimensions of a particular US plate.
Model in this review
Le Creuset 6.5-Qt. Thyme Deep Round Dutch Oven
Related regional model
Le Creuset Signature 6.5-Qt. Thyme Deep Round Dutch Oven (United States)
What to know
Crate & Barrel identifies a 6.5-quart deep round enameled cast-iron pot in exclusive Thyme, matching the owner’s purchase description. The owner had not used it, so the comments describe capacity needs and purchase rationale, not cooking performance.

One cook is an intriguing observation, not a heat test

The owner says that during the first use of the Smithey No. 10, the center reached 200 degrees while the area directly over the burner read 212. The post does not specify the temperature unit, measuring method or cooking conditions, so the figures cannot establish measured heat uniformity or explain the 12-degree difference. The owner’s surprise is a firsthand impression from one cook, not evidence of long-term performance.

For a US model reference, Smithey lists the classic No. 10 with a 10-inch top diameter, a 9-inch cooking surface, a 2-inch depth and an approximate weight of 6.7 pounds. The manufacturer also lists compatibility with gas, electric and induction cooktops; these are specifications, not results from the owner’s cooking account.

Plate size matters when cabinet depth is tight

The owner says the Villeroy & Boch Manufacture plates were too large for the cabinet depth, leaving the doors unable to close, and that a new storage cabinet was on the way. The US Manufacture collection is a family-level reference: the exact plate shape, diameter and SKU in the post are not confirmed, so check the dimensions of the specific plates before buying or planning storage.

Separate used cookware from purchase plans

The owner had not used the 6.5-quart Le Creuset pot when writing the post. They chose the larger capacity because the existing 4-quart pot felt cramped when cooking a whole chicken or beef with daikon, and say they often ended up with little broth. Crate & Barrel’s US listing identifies a 6.5-quart deep round Thyme pot, but the post offers no cooking results for it.

The owner also describes a black walnut cutting board used daily, a 30 cm Hokua nonstick wok that they say heats faster than carbon steel, and their intention to discuss nonstick stir-frying over low-output home burners in a separate post. The supplied evidence does not identify exact North American models for those items, so the reported experiences should not be assigned to a specific overseas SKU.

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