photo-mainFrom cooking shows to cooking competitions, it’s no secret we like watching chefs at work — it’s nearly as exciting as the dish itself. Maybe it’s something about the live action of it all, a sort of performance art of ladles and cast iron. Maybe we just like to feel like there’s visual evidence the dish can be done.

According to Panna, a digital cooking magazine app for iPhone and iPad, watching chefs turn ingredients into dishes isn’t just for viewers on the couch, it’s the next big thing to enter kitchens, too. A one-year subscription to the cooking app costs $14.99, but customers can purchase individual issues for $4.99.

The company announced today $1.35 million in first-round funding, including an investment from Seattle’s own Maveron.

Panna’s vision focuses on bringing world-class chefs like Richard Bayless of Frontera Grill and Anita Lo of Annisa to customer kitchens through high-definition video tutorials of each chef’s favorite dishes. The company said the new funding would help broaden the amount of recipe tutorials offered and extend the app’s customer base. In the tutorials, each chef shows the secrets to one of their favorite dishes.

panna-appBut their’s isn’t the only foot in the digital cooking arena; online cooking course provider Rouxbe offers full-length cooking classes that teach everything from cooking the perfect steak to mastering knife skills.

Of course, while Rouxbe offers skill-specific courses, they’re all done as full-length courses at various price points. Panna’s approach reads more like an hour-long cooking show.

Panna is led by David Ellner, a media industry veteran who helped develop hit TV shows such as American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.

Here’s a video with more information about the company.

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