In Germany, the term Mittelstand stands for more than company size. It describes a mindset: building long-term value, taking responsibility for people and region, and innovating without losing sight of what is practical and real.
That is why being shortlisted for the Großer Preis des Mittelstandes is a meaningful moment for us at livecookintable®. Not as a finish line, but as a signal that the way we have built the company: locally rooted, consistently developed, and internationally relevant, is being recognised beyond our immediate customers and partners.
From our base in Eltville in the Rheingau, surrounded by vineyards rather than innovation hubs, we develop concepts that are designed to function in complex hospitality and workplace environments far beyond Germany’s borders.
Why this recognition is a big deal
The Großer Preis des Mittelstandes is not an innovation show award or a growth ranking. Companies are evaluated by regional juries and an independent national jury based on long-term criteria: sustainable company development, innovation with real market relevance, responsibility toward employees and region, and customer proximity.
Only a small fraction of the thousands of nominated companies reach the shortlist stage. Therefore, being shortlisted means that not a single product, but the entire logic of how a company is built and developed, has convinced the jury.
For livecookintable®, this matters because our growth has never been driven by speed or noise, but by deliberate structural decisions and many of them are often invisible from the outside.
Innovation at livecookintable®: not ideas, but infrastructure
Until a few years ago, product development at livecookintable largely depended on external manufacturers. In 2023, we changed that fundamentally.
We built an in‑house development team: three product designers, two engineers and a technical draftsman. Since then, we control the full development chain internally. From initial idea to detailed production drawings. This shift gave us direct ownership over quality, speed and scalability.
It also led to three concrete product innovations:
The Multitable System, a modular table architecture that can be configured for very different spatial and operational requirements without redesigning the concept.
A further evolution of the Airwall, originally a mobile air extraction unit, further developed to reduce spatial footprint while increasing operational efficiency. An example of how we continuously refine existing solutions instead of adding complexity.
And battery-powered cooking solutions, enabling live cooking formats without a fixed power connection. This created an entirely new category: fully mobile, grid‑independent cooking infrastructure.
None of these were built as prototypes for presentations. They were developed to be manufactured, installed and operated repeatedly across countries, regulations and use cases.
From strategy to reality
Live cooking itself is not new. What is rare is making it work reliably beyond individual showcases. From the beginning, livecookintable® was designed to connect experience with operational reality: engaging for guests, but feasible for operators.
Modular design, clear operational logic and repeatability were built in early, so the concept could function in different environments without losing its identity. It is a system that works under pressure, not one that depends on perfect conditions.
This difference matters. And it is precisely this gap between vision and execution that the jury looks at closely.
Digitalisation and AI as a growth engine, not a replacement strategy.
We have also invested deliberately in digital tools and artificial intelligence with a clear principle: technology should strengthen jobs, not replace them.
AI is used across departments, from Microsoft Copilot and Claude to specialist rendering tools and AI‑supported customer service. With AI-based rendering, livecookintable® team can create photorealistic visualisations of concepts directly in a customer’s space within seconds.
A proprietary configurator app allows customers to assemble their setup digitally, while SolidWorks and Rhino 3D serve as central platforms for construction and visualisation. The result is faster decision-making, fewer loops, and better coordination between design, engineering and sales — a necessity for international collaboration from a local base.
Growth with responsibility: people first, always
At livecookintable®, innovation and growth are inseparable from how we develop people. The team has grown steadily around the globe, with further expansion planned, and this growth has been deliberate rather than opportunistic. Just in the past year, a dedicated four‑person marketing team was built. An investment in long-term market presence rather than short-term optimisation.
Skills development follows the same logic. Each employee receives around 15 training days per year, including fully financed, job‑accompanying development programs of up to twelve months. Artificial intelligence is introduced through structured internal training, with a clear principle: technology should strengthen roles, not replace them.
Career paths are tangible, not theoretical. As an example, a member of our team who joined livecookintable® as an assistant to management had a clear ambition to move into sales. Together, a development plan was defined. Eighteen months later, he is Senior Sales Manager, responsible for projects in the seven‑figure range.
Since 2022, our company has achieved amazing milestones while the team has continued to grow alongside it. Technology has not been used to scale without people, but deliberately deployed to scale with them.
local roots, global relevance
livecookintable®’s location in Eltville is not a branding anecdote. It shapes how we think: long-term, precise, and focused on substance. At the same time, from an early stage we built structures that allow our concepts to travel. Modular systems, internal development, and digital workflows that work across borders.
This combination of local roots and international applicability is exactly what the Großer Preis des Mittelstandes aims to highlight.
Being shortlisted is therefore not the result of one bold idea, but of many consistent decisions made over time. And it is a strong signal that this approach is visible.
About livecookintable
livecookintable® develops scalable hospitality and live experience concepts for modern dining, catering and workplace environments. Its flagship concept, combines live cooking, modular design, high-end finishes and operational efficiency to meet the real-world demands of today’s hospitality landscape.
