BuyFromEU

Debuyer are fantastic. https://www.debuyer.com/

Whatever you do, just avoid any coatings, they say its non toxic only to find out years later they were wrong (sometimes intentionally), what you want to use is high grade stainless steel or cast iron. Only "coating" that is okay is enamel (like Le Creuset pots have), you have that on your teeth as well. Disadvantage of these above is you have to learn to use it. They need to be warmed up slowly which can be annoying sometimes, but on the other hand you have non-toxic pots that lasts for life.

Fiskars pans are nice, made in Finland

In my experience Tefal is a good choice. Last long (my pan is at least 6 years old now and working perfectly), stays stable (handle didn't get wobbly much, just had to tighten a screw once), good quality and weight to it.

I'm happy enough to recommend those along!

Le Creuset pans do all of that. You can get ceramic coated and cast iron.

I have this from Monix an works pretty well and are durable: https://monix.es/en/products/mineral-frying-pan
Also, if you want and affordable inox pan, I just bought this one from Arcos and is awesome: https://www.arcos.com/products/sarten-acero-inoxidable-serie-samoa-inox-24-cm-726300

Highly recommend Staub the french company if you're looking for something that doesn't have a plastic non stick coating

@ikirin I have two from https://hoffmann-germany.de/ and I love them. Completely manufactured in Germany and you can even recoat them if ever needed.

Highly recommend Fissler https://fissler.com/ for european made kitchenware. Sure, they are a bit pricey, but you can be sure, they can be used in longevity. Also they come with a long warranty (up to 25years in some cases) depending on the product.

Demeyere ? https://demeyereco.com/demeyere-pans/

Staub and Emile Henry are mostly made in Europe. Le Creuset has moved a fair bit to Asia. Heard nothing but rave reviews about De Buyer.

I have a RÖSLE pan and it's the one that last the longest. Double to three times longer than TEFAL and all other pans I had in the past.

Can't really compare but Silampos have a great reputation in Portugal: https://www.silampos.pt/pt/

The shop link: https://www.silampos2.pt/en/

Harecker are German made (not just a European brand that in reality produces everything in Asia). Really well made.Their coating is a semi-ceramic non stick coating that works quite well and is PFAS free. Sadly no removable handle,though.

[lengthy post about trying to use stainless steel instead and how it won't stick if you heat it up properly but everything will be more crispy rather than smooth like eggs]

I bought one from this website and am very happy.

https://sandundstein.de/

I wanted to be able to send it back and let them recoat the pan. It would cost 15 Euros plus delivery for their own pans I think.

The anti stick is very good and harder because of ceramic ingredients.

They say you're able to heat it to 220C and since you can remove the handle, put it in the oven.

It's 100%made in Germany.

Edit: they say no pfas and usable on induction. Temperature allowed is even 260C

Sorry, not replying to everyone individually, because I did not at all expect so many replies.

Thank you all for your recommendations, for now I did go with a Tefal set with ceramic coating.

I'll however keep all the amazing recommendations in mind for the future or when family & friends are asking for my input.

And to the stainless/cast iron crowd - I hear you and maybe in the future I'll go for a stainless pan - for now I'll non-stick with the ceramic ones. I'm already convinced with pots, but never got to try it for pans and am not in a point in my life to throw a good bit of money at a pan that I maybe never use because I don't like it.

Anyone here working in a kitchen? What makes good kitchen equipment in general? What should I look out for?

I can recommend Eva Trio (Danish company) with ceramic non-stick. Good quality, and decently priced.

Lagostina Ingenio series are good pans, from an Italian company (owned by a french one).

Not made in EU, but made in Europe. I definitely recommend Spring, professional grade kitchen utensils (worth the money, in my opinion): https://www.spring-brandshop.com/en/

Portuguese made and also good quality: https://www.silampos2.pt/pt/?set=entrada

Also Portuguese made, but more affordable: https://loja.celar.pt/

Personal opinion heavily influenced by a chef who know teaches other cooks: You need two to three different pans (material wise). A cast iron one. They are heavy, they are ugly,but you can bequeath them to your children and so can they. If handled properly they are indestructable. But are they a good option for everything? Fuck no. Sure, you can try and it will mostly work. But who has time for that? But for searing, etc. They are perfect - and dirt cheap. (Mine is 15 years old and travelled over 40k km with me)

The next recommendation he had was a ceramic one. They are good alrounders but don't take high temperatures well. But I personally think you did choose wisely if you wanted to buy just one. I had the tefal one for years and it did serve me well. But they will degrade and at some point need to be replaced or recoated. Which is okay,imho.

Lastly think about a enamel based one. They last ages as well but have a very limited range of use,imho, but for stews, especially acidic thinks (tomatos!) and things like that they are great. Sadly the company I got mine closed a few years ago.

So,if you ask me you did choose wisely. Happy cooking.

Maybe RIESS Austria. Expensive but good quality. https://www.riess.at/en-GB

Not an expert, but my best cookware is made by Smeg and Alessi, but while the former's pots have a "Made in Italy", marking, the latter don't, so I'm not sure about them. They do have a factory in Italy, but you know...

https://www.fabini.cz/collections/panve

https://www.kolimax.cz/panve/?srsltid=afmbooolkam4yy2q-rl9w8xcl0yh67wcl2djppffboznzjfuwp6mwvfg

Both made in Czech republic.