2_0_DiscoverGermany_May2014_Issue14:Scan Magazine 1
9/4/14
20:32
Page 62
Discover Germany | Special Theme | Made in Switzerland
Kitchen aids with a view This is not a knife. It’s a revelation. So be careful when you start cutting your bread or cheese with these rather original tools.
Above: Knife block
TEXT: SONJA IRANI | PHOTOS: PANORAMAKNIFE
As he sat behind the steering wheel on a clear autumn morning, the idea to make knives with a panorama view came over Andy Hostettler, a Swiss marketing specialist and hotel owner. “The Alpstein und the Churfirsten were very visible that day,” he remembers. “The Churfirsten is a row of seven mountains, all more or less the same height, but differently jagged. I just saw it. It was like an optical accident.” Today, the clever kitchen aid designer offers bread knives with all kinds of Swiss mountain peaks, cheese knives with particularly interesting jags, cutting boards with unnamed peaks to provoke exciting table talk, magnetic knife holders and whole gift sets. All of his products are made in Europe and guarantee Swiss quality as well as a fair price. “It’s a disruption of something totally trivial,” Hostettler says about his invention. “We break the convention of bread and cheese knives by giving the mountains or skylines a function. It’s also a great gift idea for people who already have everything. Plus, no other bread knife cuts as
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sharply as the PanoramaKnife.” The unbelievable sharpness of the knives was actually a coincidence, as Hostettler explains further: “We had decided to cut the knives a little deeper into the blade in order to show the snow on the peaks. The result: they now also cut easily through smoked meat and even tomatoes.” All products can be bought via the company’s online shop that also features an English version. “However, we are currently ne-
gotiating a deal with a licence holder in the UK,” reveals Hostettler. “This should be in place by Christmas.” If you don’t want to wait that long, why not combine your knife purchase with a stay at the pretty boutique hotel close to Lake Constance run by Andy Hostettler and his wife. That way, taking home a PanoramaKnife will be a nice souvenir of your holiday in beautiful Switzerland. www.panoramaknife.ch Below: PanoramaKnife Wallis Bottom: PanoramaKnife Berner Oberland