Berkel
Established 1898Founded in 1898 by W.A. van Berkel, Berkel is the manufacturer of world’s first meat-slicing machine. Van Berkel, a butcher from the Netherlands, changed the way slicing was done in butcher shops and revolutionized the way people prepare food in general (think of the pre-sliced food you find in supermarkets).
The initial idea was as simple as it was ingenious: Van Berkel brought together a concave blade, which precisely reproduces the hand/knife movement, and a moving plate that slides towards the blade. The first slicer was called ‘Berkel Model A’. In the days, Berkel was not just an innovative product but also a true status symbol. The real purist buys one with a manual flywheel (as pictured above).
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