Coninvest’s showroom in Sóskút was filled with industry guests: this time, professionals from catering companies serving domestic events took part in a cooking show.

On November 19, 2025, the RATIONAL Cooking Class program was held at the Coninvest showroom in Sóskút. This was the second such event: the first took place in the spring, when representatives of à la carte restaurants and bistros were invited, and now it was the turn of professionals from the catering segment. Led by Rational’s corporate chefs, the intelligent cooking systems demonstrated how an entire event menu can be prepared efficiently and with predictable quality – without the need for on-site expertise…

Once again, the presentation was led by two experienced corporate chefs:

• Attila Kósa, corporate chef at Rational Hungary
• Nico Jahnke, corporate chef at Rational

Dániel Kanyik, sales representative at Coninvest, explains that this is the second joint Rational–Coninvest cooking workshop this year, at which Rational’s corporate chef cooks a menu designed for professionals live. The focus this time was on catering – that is, how to prepare and serve food for events and large groups in a sophisticated, practical, and efficient manner. Once again, the menu was based on seasonal ingredients: in spring, asparagus and seasonal vegetables took center stage, while in November, the flavors of autumn—pumpkin, goose, and cabbage—took center stage.

While Dániel explains the focus of the event, the professional audience is already gathering, and the program begins at 10 a.m. The precise start time is no coincidence: some of the dishes are already being prepared in Rational’s 6- and 8-tray combi steamers.

The Rational iVario Pro and iCombi Pro systems work completely independently based on pre-programmed recipes and technological processes, enabling stable quality, predictable results, and safe operation without constant supervision. Their operation is based on Rational’s more than half a century of professional knowledge: the experience and proven recipes accumulated by the manufacturer’s chefs, confectioners and bakers over fifty years have all been incorporated into the intelligent control of the appliances. Users can select the program that best suits the given theme, ingredients, or menu, then start the process with a single button press—and the appliance will prepare the dish quickly, accurately, and with the same high quality every time.

“The bottom line is that, thanks to modern, intelligent equipment, it is now possible to safely prepare a complete event menu even without serious professional background,” Nico emphasizes. He reveals that his favorite feature of this machine is the so-called “night shift,” when the preset program delivers the dish ready at a specified time in the morning – prepared exactly as specified in the recipe stored in the system’s memory, at temperature X for time Y.

Nico also demonstrates the energy efficiency of long cooking times: the marinated beef was cooked in the oven for 18 hours starting the night before, yet only consumed 8 kW of energy – which is recorded in the machine’s own memory and can be checked by anyone. This clearly shows that Rational appliances not only work precisely and reliably, but also optimize energy consumption to the maximum.

Nico emphasizes that they did not come to teach the professionals present how to cook – there is no need for that – but to demonstrate the possibilities offered by 21st-century technologies that fundamentally simplify and streamline work in large kitchens. So much so that even a newly hired, inexperienced colleague can safely and consistently operate the equipment.

Goose legs are already roasting in one of the ovens; the appliance communicates with continuous sound signals, and the operator can follow the progress of the process in real time and see how much time is left until serving. After the goose legs are served, the appreciation is clear: everyone present tastes them and nods in agreement, confirming the quality of the final result.

Meanwhile, the machine that cooked the main course is already performing its self-cleaning function: in about 15 minutes, it washes itself completely hygienically and is ready for the next task.

While the goose legs are cooking, Attila Kósa, corporate chef at Rational Hungary, takes over from his Swiss colleague. He explains that thanks to intelligent technology, burning or overcooking is practically impossible – these mistakes are unheard of with this system. The savings are not only significant in terms of energy costs and labor, but also in terms of cookware: the cooking pots and trays essentially replace traditional cookware, minimizing its role. While explaining all this, Attila also demonstrates how the keep-warm function works.

Tibor Szekeres, sales director at Rational Hungary, joins our table and emphasizes that the main goal of the presentation is to give participating professionals a first-hand experience of the reliability and stable performance that Rational technology offers. This means that ensuring consistently high quality is no longer a challenge or a source of stress for events – their systems guarantee the desired result every time.

While dessert was being served, Nico had already started the washing and self-cleaning programs on both appliances. By the time the last bites had been eaten, the two Rational appliances were ready for their next task or to be put into service at any time during the next shift.

At the end of the program, Kilian Schütz, Rational’s head of Central and Eastern Europe, told us that this topic is extremely important to them. Although this was the first time the event was held in Coninvest’s showroom, they regularly organize similar presentations to keep their prospective and existing customers up to date on their options and process development methods. Their goal is to convince chefs and operators that there is enormous potential in process optimization, and a live cooking show is one of the most effective ways to demonstrate this.