My brother’s annual birthday treat was not a cake but always one of my mother’s delectable cherry pies. On our white and red enamel table she would roll out her delicate piecrusts with her sturdy maple rolling pin. I loved her pies but was especially devoted to the crisp leftover piecrust pieces that she baked and then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.
I still use my mother’s rolling pin. There’s just something special about kitchen heirlooms seasoned with a life of loving care and imbued with the pure joy of cooking.
That’s at least, in part, the idea Betsy and Paige Lindell had four years ago when they started their business, Seasoned: New Orleans' first store devoted exclusively to the sale of secondhand cookware. Paige recently moved back to her family home in the Northeast, but continues to guide the store’s business plan with her knowledge as a chef while her sister Betsy operates the store as a true labor of love, while holding down a standard 9-to-5 job during the week.
Seasoned is a well-curated store stocked with copper pots, rugged roasters, teapots and coffee presses. You’ll also find on its shelves cast iron pans, high quality knives, martini shakers, bottle openers, tart pans and molds.
“I can’t turn down a ramekin,” confided Betsy. “I always look for quality cooking tools; I’m not interested in gadgets. I try to buy things that are functional and beautiful, and I never go for what is considered collectible.”
Betsy buys most of the shop's treasures from flea markets and estate and garage sales. She adds that if you are looking to downsize or reorganize your kitchen, come talk to her about consignment or let her make an offer on your wares.
“We want to help people properly stock a kitchen with tried-and-true heirloom cookware,” she says. “We want to give it another life.”
The store opened in Mid-City on Broad Street but last July it moved Uptown. The move was exciting and Betsy says many of her loyal customers happily followed the store to its new location.
“We have the sweetest customers, they are resourceful, creative and hardworking.”
Many of Seasoned’s customers come from the local restaurant scene.
“Most of them are employed in the back of the house and they don’t make a lot of money so we want to keep our inventory reasonable and affordable. We want people to be able to stock a kitchen for around $50.”
Seasoned also sells items online and hopes to soon be fully stocked selling all across the country.
“We know for the store’s future and its sustainability, and to make the numbers work, we need to have a strong presence online,” Betsy says. Also, the hope is to one day open brick and mortar stores in other cities.
Betsy says a wooden rolling pin needs a little bit of care in order to become an heirloom.
“Wash your rolling pin by hand and dry thoroughly,” she says. “Rolling pins can last a long time if you avoid soaking them. And condition with a mineral oil if they become too dry.”
Seasoned
3824 Dryades
Phone number (860) 604-4650
etsy.com/shop/SeasonedCookware
