AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Matheson Cookware
AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Matheson Cookware
AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Matheson Cookware
AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Matheson Cookware
AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Matheson Cookware
AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Matheson Cookware
AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Matheson Cookware
AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Matheson Cookware
AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Matheson Cookware
A must-have for any at-home chef, the cast-iron pan is one of the few kitchen products that actually improves with heavy use. With this in mind, chef Matty Matheson and Castor Design have created the ultimate cookware.
It’s a reunion of sorts: Both Matheson and Castor Design are icons, if not iconoclasts, of Toronto dining and design; the heavily tattooed Matheson (who stars in his own Vice show) is a beloved restaurateur, while Castor’s Brian Richer and Kei Ng are veterans of the city’s design scene — and also among the founders of OddFellows and Parts & Labour, two restaurants that once employed Matheson. More than a decade later, the trio has reconnected to make an heirloom pan that will last for years to come.
The thick-bottomed skillet’s defining feature is its distinctive edge: The lip gently rises where it meets the handle, providing more surface area to collect sauces when the pan is tilted and serving as a handy resting spot for a cooking utensil.
A matching lid mirrors this embellishment to create a seal that enables the pan to be used as a Dutch oven. Meanwhile, the long handle, hard anodized in black an knurled for better grip, allows the cook to maintain a distance (from sizzling juices) while at the helm; a hole at its end means it can be easily suspended — and put on display — from an S-hook.
Baked on, the triple-layer black enamel finish will develop a patina as it incorporates cooking oils, earning the hardworking pan its beloved role in the kitchen.
Team: Matty Matheson with Brian Richer and Kei Ng (Castor)
A must-have for any at-home chef, the cast-iron pan is one of the few kitchen products that actually improves with heavy use.
