Culver City, California, USA
Pakistan-born Shiza Shahid who Oprah Winfrey dubbed the “kitchen magician” designed the Always Pan for Our Place also known as Lagom Kitchen Company as a do-it-all wonder is devised to replace eight traditional pieces of cookware.
Plus, it looks pretty stunning too.
“Why do we need so many pots and pans of specific shapes and sizes when one pan could do so much more,” asks Shadid?
Her brand Our Place—of which Always Pan is the signature product—was the solution.
“The Always Pan cookware replaces eight kitchen pieces, shallow enough to flip a pancake and deep enough to make soup,” she states.
“It comes with a nesting spatula and a steamer basket that doubles as a colander. It has an exclusive nontoxic non-stick coating that makes clean-up a breeze, and it is so beautiful you’ll never want to put it away.”
Her new design replaces the traditional fry pan, saute pan, steamer, skillet, saucier, saucepan, non-stick pan, spatula, and spoon rest.
With its millennial monochrome appeal, the new cult-favorite, all-in-one nonstick Always Pan is available in muted, soothing colors with names like “spice,” “perracotta,” and “char.”
For starters, the Always Pan arrives in wonderfully sustainable packaging: It was encased in a cardboard box, and smaller cardboard strips kept everything in place, without a piece of plastic in sight — a total win for the environmentally conscientious consumer.
Along with the actual pan, the package came with a soft, dehydrated sponge and cleaning instructions.
While the product description claims Always Pan is lightweight, it weighs in at 3 pounds, and the lid is an additional pound.
It’s made from sturdy aluminum and coated with nonstick ceramic that’s free of chemicals, according to its website.
The pan feels incredibly durable, similar to the standard cast iron that can withstand years of use and wear.
The pan’s accompanying beechwood spatula fits like Tetris into its allotted spot, and while hardly necessary for kitchen success, this feature is really thoughtful.
A good wooden spoon is essential for cooking, especially because many pans, including the Always Pan, don’t mesh well with metal, which can scratch the coating and undo the non-stick functionality.
Beyond the Always Pan, the brand’s inclusive mission is realised through its Traditionware collections.
“Our Traditionware collections are designed to celebrate home-cooking traditions: from Nochebuena to Lunar New Year, Shabbat to Ramadan, we create collections that honour all traditions,” says Shahid.
“In food media and mainstream kitchenware industry, home-cooking traditions of communities like my own have often been erased, co-opted or overlooked.”
“I know what it means to me to have my traditions recognized, to feel seen, and that’s what we try to do at Our Place through our storytelling, our product design, our give-backs, and our platform.”
Project: Always Pan
Designer: Shiza Shahid
Manufacturer: Lagom Kitchen Company
