Le Creuset was founded in 1925 in the town of Fresnoy-le-Grand in Northern France by two Belgian industrialists - Armand Desaegher (a casting specialist) and Octave Aubecq (an enameling specialist). The pair introduced the signature Le Creuset round cocotte (French/Dutch Oven) soon after; the cocotte remains the company's most popular cookware piece to this day.

To create their cast iron cookware, the Le Creuset foundry uses standard sand casting methods. After hand finishing, items are sprayed with two coats of enamel, each fired at 800°C. The enamel becomes resistant to damage during normal use. Currently, all Le Creuset cast iron cookware is still manufactured in the company's foundry in Fresnoy-le-Grand, where artisans employ a 12 step finishing process implemented by 15 different pairs of hands to ensure that there are no flaws or imperfections in the final product

Le Creuset enameled cast iron can be used on all cooking surfaces, including electric, gas, glass halogen and induction cookers. It can also be used for food storage (in the refrigerator) and in the oven.