The problem with Cookin’ is that you have to deal with Judy…
Oh she’s not so bad, especially when she’s ringing up thick copper for sale 
(And if you can’t chat intelligently about what you are buying and seeking)
Hi, Gooster:
Don’t get me started about Judy… We have a common friend who introduced us in person, and she is condescendingly rude (yet hostile) to everyone. I can hold my own with anyone about cookware, and even after I gently stumped her a few times (e.g., the Peugeot mill she tried selling me was a Prefex) she treated both me and our mutual friend with complete disdain. I’m quite hard of hearing, and so when I asked her to please face me while speaking, she ignored that completely–message sent and received. I’ve heard this and more too many times from too many people to believe she’s “not so bad”.
Karma bit her ass when I was there, through, when she tipped over a tall freestanding stack of large crystal punchbowls and platters–on top of her. Literally buried herself.
I wasn’t even impressed with her copper items. Only one small cocotte was >2mm, and Judy had it price-marked over twice what they typically go for on eBay. Basically Cookin’ exudes a cranky hoarder’s vibe.
Like I said, don’t get me started…
Aloha,
Kaleo
Ha, that’s too funny. I had heard so much about her, and the interviews are hilarious. Just you facing her down on cookware is pretty funny — she really is not nearly as knowledgeable as any of you, which is why some things are ridiculously priced. There were a few more items > 2mm, including stuff north of 3 mm when I was there in October. I’ll go back again before the new year, I think. She did tell me that she didn’t stock that much copper as she didn’t get the demand for it – the stuff that I was eyeing had been recently retinned, she said.
The store itself is a treasure. But as Judy herself proved, unsafe to perambulate. The shelves of copper were well guarded by angle-of-repose mountains of dross.
I thought it was sad that she’d failed to recognize a Jensen Taverna silver-lined skillet as such, and so had the silver tinned over.
Her dog is nice…
