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Czechoslovakian descent, had lived in Paris for nearly 30
years. His mother, Anna, was a Cordon Bleu chef, with a fresh
and innovative approach to cooking. When they arrived in the
United States, Anna was dismayed at the quality of produce and
meats available at the supermarkets, and a nation intrigued with
processed and frozen foods. Attempting to produce tender, flavorful
chicken and duck, she would drain the juices out of the bag that
the poultry came in, saving it to use during roasting. "The
fresh taste and juiciness are just not there!" she would
exclaim. After 6 years of this, her husband, George, said, "If
you don't like the way the chicken tastes, change it. I'm not
moving back to France just for fresh chicken flavor!" This
gave Anna an idea. For years she had attempted to sear the inside
of her poultry by placing spoons into the bird's inner cavity.
Now she challenged her husband to make an "Eiffel Tower"
out of wire so she could stand the bird up during cooking, while
searing the inside to seal in the natural juices. A model was
designed according to Anna's instruction, and the family had
500 produced.
In 1961, the family moved to California. George and Anna opened
a family-style French restaurant, Chez-Anna, on Broadway in Burlingame.
Anna continually delighted patrons with the tenderness and flavor
of poultry prepared using the Spanek Vertical Roaster. Denis
worked in the restaurant for 4 years, but after seeing the hours
and work involved in running a restaurant, he shunned culinary
school. Attending college at San Jose State, Denis graduated
with degrees in Business, Marketing and Real Estate in 1969,
and entered the real estate business in 1970.
Known as "that crazy real estate guy who cooks chicken
vertically for people," Denis would often arrive with a
chicken and the family roaster to prepare a special dinner for
new homeowners. One of his clients exclaimed over the flavor
and succulence of his Spanek-style poultry, and after hearing
the explanation and history of the vertical roaster, urged Denis
to seek out a patent.
Denis was enjoying a highly successful real estate career,
and when his father challenged him to market the roaster, he
did not readily accept. However, when he started getting as many
calls for roasters as houses, he realized it was time to direct
his energy elsewhere. Denis took a sabbatical from the real estate
business and applied for a patent on the vertical roaster. Speeded
by the government's interest in energy-saving devices, he received
a patent 6 months after filing, and thus launched Spanek, Inc.
in 1976, with his brother George, Jr. as his partner.The two
brothers set out to show the world this revolutionary approach
to preparing juicier, more flavorful chicken and duck.
The challenge proved enormous! The Spanek Vertical Roaster
was demonstrated to various chefs, food experts, cooking editors,
trade shows and department stores from coast to coasteverybody
laughed and nobody listened. Then gradually, as food experts
across the country tasted the chicken and duck roasted the Spanek
way, things began to change. And one person at a time, critics
became converts. Chefs began to write letters saying how much
they liked the vertical roaster, and cooking schools began to
promote its use. A stellar moment occurred when a Spanek chef
demonstrated the time-saving roaster on the Dinah Shore Show.
With ease, he carved the chicken with a carrot instead of a knifeviewers
reacted in amazement and Dinah raved about the incredible flavor.
Buoyed by the response, Denis forged forward, designing a
large roaster to accommodate turkey, and smaller ones for game
hens, pheasants, partridge, quail and squab. Working with a group
of chefs in California, a top ring was developed to support 8
vertical skewers for roasting chops, kabobs, sausage, steaks
and other cuts of meat. The vertical position and open-air roasting
eliminated the need for any additional fats or oils, resulting
in tender, flavorful meat that was healthier and lower in fat.
Denis then added a basting tray that could be placed on top of
the roaster for automatic glazing and basting during cooking.
Working with a team of chefs, Spanek, Inc. created cookbooks
featuring unique recipes and ideas for each roaster. Initial
contributing consultants for the cookbooks included one of San
Francisco's finest chefs, Monsieur Paul DuFour, and Nancy Parker,
of the Nancy Parker Cooking School. In more recent years, Spanek,
Inc. has drawn on the culinary expertise of American food writer
and cookbook author, Lynne Kasper, and Judith Hines, a food consultant,
cooking instructor and author. New recipe collections are always
in the works!
Since 1979, over 10 million roasters have been sold. Named
one of the Top Ten Most Innovative Products at the 1981 Paris
Gourmet Show, it is featured in the vertical roasting category
of the Gourmet Retailer. The success of the Spanek Vertical Roaster
has spawned a variety of imitation products. While these knock-offs
imitate the vertical cooking position, they are made with inferior
materials and therefore do not produce the same mouth-watering
results as the Spanek original.
The philosophy of "Spanek Magic" is simplecooking
the Spanek way creates the healthiest, most delicious poultry,
meat, fish or vegetables ever. He has continued to add a variety
of tools, seasonings, foods and accessories designed to enhance
and enliven cooking, dining and entertaining. These products
offer value, innovation, and above all, excitement.
You can often catch a Spanek demonstration from your living
room on such channels as QVC-HSN and Valuevision, as well as
internationally on QVC H.O.T. and M6. Denis and his Spanek Vertical
Roaster have been featured on Amazing Discoveries, and continue
to be written up in various magazines and newspapers. When he
is not making appearances at food shows across the country, Denis
can often be found personally returning calls from the ever-increasing
Spanek family of customers with vertical roasting questions and
concerns.
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