An unconventional concept, the only one of its kind in Slovakia, has been created in Bratislava. Potten & Pannen – Staněk has opened spaces that target all the senses, connecting the premium kitchen equipment store with the Smeg showroom and the Gourmet Academy.
For 17 years, Potten & Pannen – Staněk has enriched Slovak cuisines with excellent products from famous brands such as Villeroy & Boch, Rosenthal, Zwilling, Staub, Woll, Bamix, Mason Cash, Emile Henry, Mauviel, Peugeot, or KusmiTea. The story of cooking and dining will now be told within a unique concept that engages all the senses. Spanning an area of almost 300m2 in Bratislava N!, three elements have merged into DO on Trnavská cesta. Each of them is unique, and yet they are related.
Timeless Design Smeg Showroom
Generations of proven know-how, creativity, style, and passion for design are the cornerstones of the Italian brand Smeg. The newly opened showroom is the first of its kind in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, where, in addition to small retro kitchen helpers in the style of the 1950s, you will also be able to see and buy prominent designer and timeless appliances such as iconic refrigerators, hobs or built-in ovens. You will find the most popular collections, whether in retro style, such as Victoria, or vice versa, modern lines Dolce Stil Novo, Linea Aesthetic, and Classic.
Experiential Cooking Gourmet Academy
Potten & Pannen – Staněk also established a premium cooking school. The Slovak Gourmet Academy is inspired by the proven and perfected recipe of the Czech Gourmet Academy in Prague, which, in eight years on the neighboring market, has become a popular and sought-after place for everyone who wants to improve their culinary skills, likes good food, cooking, and diverse food experiences. Famous gastronomy celebrities and popular food bloggers will host various courses. Thus, you can attend a cooking school, for example, led by the chef Michal Konrád, master of sourdoughing Petronela Burianová, author of several cookbooks and lover of vegetarian food Martin “Pyco” Rausch, food blogger Nikoleta Kováčová known as Surová dcérka, expert in biology and food technologies – founder of the portal Food Therapy – Silvia Horecká and many other lecturers.
The cooking experience will be enhanced by a modern industrial kitchen with acknowledged elements, using materials such as metal, wood, concrete, or stone. The space is equipped with Smeg appliances, designer dishes, and accessories from iconic brands that you know from the Potten & Pannen – Staněk portfolio. The premises can also be rented for team building, events, photo shoots, or filming. The Slovak cooking school is led by Michal Šefčík, a gourmet and manager famous on Instagram who will apply managerial experience from his previous professional career in his work.
Cooking has become trendy, and many of our clients are great gourmets
Everything at Hand Potten & Pannen Shop – Staněk
After the only Slovak Potten & Pannen – Staněk store in Bratislava’s OC Central, visitors to the Gourmet Academy can see the most popular pieces from the offer of premium kitchen utensils. The new store has also found its place in the premises of N!DO, which made it possible to merge the three elements of the newly opened concept. Easy accessibility and visibility will direct design appliances, cooking, and dining lovers. Come and see, taste, smell, and touch a unique experience.
A Word with Miloš & Pavel Staněkovci
Potten & Pannen was born 31 years ago. What inspired you, and what does the name mean?
It all started in 1991 when I imported Calphalon dishes from the USA to the former Czechoslovakia. Shortly after that, I accidentally met Miloš Staněk for the first time. In one Žižkov restaurant, where Miloš cooked, we started talking. When I showed him products from the US and the Netherlands, he said that he did not want to cook with anything else. Soon, Miloš quit the restaurant and came to Potten & Pannen. By the way, I was also inspired by the name in the Netherlands. Potten and pannen means pots and pans.
Your associate has the same last name as you. Is it a coincidence, or are you related?
Many people think so. We were also surprised when we handed each other business cards. It’s just a pure coincidence. We were convinced that this was a good sign.
How was your entry into the Slovak market? Is there anything that surprised you? After all, there are some differences between the Slovak and Czech customers.
When we founded the company in 1992, our countries were basically divided. Logically, we focused on the local market, but over time, multinational companies began to arrive, which we encountered thanks to distribution. They were primarily centralized in Prague, distributing to Slovakia, so we established Potten & Pannen – Staněk s. r. o. also there in 2007. We soon had an exciting number of clients, and in 2012, we opened our store in OC Central in Bratislava. In distribution, trading did not differ much, but you always have to know the customers, and we quickly found out that they are not the same as in the Czech Republic.
How have gastro trends changed during your business?
A lot has changed in more than thirty years of business. If we are talking about food, you can choose from restaurants with different cuisines, which also applies to homes. Cooking has become trendy, and many of our clients are great gourmets. After Prague, we opened a second Gourmet Academy in Bratislava, and it is here that we can see how interest in culinary art is becoming popular. Ten years ago, this would not have been feasible.
The products you offer are more exclusive. Is it worth investing in them even today, in a time of energy crisis, when people do not have extra money?
Now is an excellent time to think about what product you will get for your kitchen. Consider long-lasting products that save energy and time and make cooking easier thanks to their technical properties. We also focus on products that prevent food waste. E.g., Zwilling, Fresh & Save, Staub cast iron dishes, or copper Mauviel, which, if used correctly, will remain for the next generations. We’ve always wanted to be curators who bring the best to the kitchen and the table. This is our mission, we have been guided by it for over thirty years.
The shopping energy is currently concentrated in shopping centers, but you have decided to open both the Smeg showroom and the cooking school outside of them. Why is it so?
Yes, that’s right, that’s why we opened the first store in the shopping center. However, this concept would not fit into them. The Smeg showroom is linked with the cooking school, which is fully equipped with Smeg products, and the store, which complements the whole concept with its assortment. We want our customers to find kitchen equipment in one place, including Smeg built-in appliances, or improve their cooking skills at Gourmet Academy. We also want to be a place where architects meet with clients looking for a new home.
Are you planning to open a store in other cities in Slovakia?
We certainly have it planned, and we have already selected smaller cities suitable for our concept. Honestly, we slowed down this process during the pandemic and certainly the energy crisis with the war in Ukraine did not help either. We also have this plan in the Czech Republic.
Photo: Potten & Pannen – Staněk
