A Menston-based firm has been chosen as one of only 20 Best Selected Exhibitors at the Ideal Home Show at Christmas, overcoming competition from 600 other businesses, for inventing a hi-tech cooker.

Burton Kitchenware will launch its state-of-the-art sous vide cooker next year. Sous vide is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for longer than normal cooking time.

Richard Burton, managing director, said: “The Burton Sous Vide will radically change home cooking because it will give people the opportunity to use techniques that have up until now only been available to the professional chef.”

Richard developed the home sous vide cooker when he was left to get to grips with the household tasks after his wife became ill with breast cancer. Experiencing how difficult it was to feed a family properly without wastage he looked at how he could vacuum-pack food for preservation.

He developed the new cooker with the help of Glenelg Design – the people behind the GHD hair straightener. The cooker works by sealing food in air-tight plastic pouches and cooking them at much lower temperatures.

The new cooker marks the first product for Burton Kitchenware.