De Buyer Smooth Plancha Pan 38x26cm Carbon Steel

The De Buyer smooth plancha is a flat carbon steel cooking plate designed for direct, high-heat cooking without the need for added oils or fats. At 38x26cm, it provides a usable cooking surface suited to small-volume service — adequate for à la carte work, pop-up catering, or as a supplementary cooking surface alongside a main range.

Carbon steel is the traditional material of choice for plancha cooking, and with good reason. It heats quickly, distributes heat evenly across the flat surface, and develops a natural seasoning over time that improves its non-stick properties with use. The 2.5–3mm plate thickness gives enough mass to hold cooking temperature when food is added, which is important for achieving a proper sear rather than steaming the product. It performs well across fish, shellfish, thin cuts of meat, and vegetables.

Practical operational advantages include:

• Compatible with all heat sources, including induction, gas, and electric ranges
• No coating to degrade — the carbon steel surface improves with seasoning over time
• Easy to move between cooking stations or transport to events
• Simple to clean and maintain with correct seasoning practice
• No requirement for added fats, supporting leaner menu options

Being a smaller format, this plancha is best suited to low-to-medium covers or kitchens where plancha cooking is one technique among several rather than a primary cooking method. For sites running consistent high-volume plancha service, a larger or heavier-gauge plate would be more appropriate. This pan is made in France by De Buyer, a manufacturer with a long-established reputation in professional kitchen equipment.

If you're unsure whether this size is right for your service volume or kitchen setup, the team is happy to help you think it through before you order.