Huge copper fish kettle / poacher - 29½"

"A giant copper fish poacher — heavy as hell! We used it in class for salmon," Patricia exclaims! From the kitchen at Chanteduc, Patricia and Walter's farmhouse and cooking school in Vaison-la-Romaine, this antique French copper fish kettle is a rare find at this scale. The body is hand-formed copper, deep and elongated with a satisfying oval profile, its surface carrying the warm, burnished patina of long use — tones of amber, rose and brown that no new piece can replicate. The lid fits flush and carries two sturdy iron handles at its centre, while matching iron loop handles are riveted to each end of the kettle itself, a practical necessity given the weight of the thing. The craftsmanship is serious and undecorated: this was made to work. At Chanteduc, it did exactly that — poaching whole salmon for Patricia's cooking classes. Today it would be equally at home displayed along a kitchen shelf or stone ledge, or put back to its original purpose for a whole fish, a court-bouillon and a table full of hungry guests.