Friday 11 November is a sad day indeed. Not only for the Armistice Day ceremonials which are becoming more and more poignant as the peace rages in Iraq, but on a small personal level.
Today, I have called time on my SKK frying pan. This wonderful piece of kit has long been top gun in my kitchen battery but after only four years' service it has finally bitten the dust. Or at least has been officially demoted to the ranks of the mediocre and culpably sticky non-stick.
I know it's pathetic to become attached to objects, particularly cook stuff, but I loved that pan and did everything with it. It was so much more than just a frying pan. Happy were the days when we skipped hand in hand through the park, kicking leaves and laughing about...
OK. Not really, but seriously if you've never heard of SKK you should find out. They're great. They're German and as non-stick as Bill Clinton. Every pan is hand cast from heavy gauge aluminium so they all weigh a ton but give fantastic, even heat distribution. In the durability stakes they win by a mile. The non-stick is titanium-based meaning you can use metal implements on it and not damage it, you can cook on any surface be it gas, halogen, Aga or an open fire if the urge grabs you.
And it comes with a five-year guarantee. Is this worth pursuing, or after four years, three months and 20 days, will the manufacturer just shrug and say tough? Well, not that tough, actually. I (probably mistakenly) tend to believe that a guarantee is a minimum life expectancy, not a maximum, but here I could be wrong. Is i just guaranteeing what it guarantees and I could well have a point since my pan fell in sight of the finishing post?
Anyway, we'll see what the nice people at SKK say. If they tell me to get lost, I may find myself pledging allegiance to another flag, but if they're nice, I may find myself with a shiny, new, hard-as-nails pan and the prospect of at least five more years' happy cooking.
Here's hoping.
I was wondering if Nicki managed to contact SKK as I have a similar situation. I feel just like you feel and can't even find out how to contact skk to see if they have a refurb service. Would it be good if we attract a worldwide network of disgruntled SKK pan users and approach the company en masse. All I want is the pan to live up to this advert - SKK titanium nonstick cookware is recommended by Delia Smith, who says: 'SKK pans are made in Germany from heavy-gauge aluminium but with a non-stick titanium surface 40 times harder than stainless steel. So, at last, high heat, no problem; metal utensils, no problem. Expensive, but one purchase is for "life", so cheaper than a long line of dismal failures -
Maybe life doesn't mean life?
I await contacts - is there anyone else out there?