A non-stick surface comprising a porous, hard metal-ceramic coating such as chromium oxide applied to the cook surface of a cooking utensil by arc or plasma spraying. The pores of the coating are impregnated under vacuum with an inert release agent of low viscosity such as food grade liquid silicon resin. After vacuum impregnation, the impregnate is thermally cured and the cook surface is mechanically abraded/polished to remove the protruding peaks of metal-ceramic material to expose flattened bare metal portions interspersed between and substantially co-planar with the surfaces of the impregnated release agent residing in the valleys/pores.