The microwave oven is the most important technical innovation in the kitchen of the twentieth century. Most other technical developments had been pioneered in the Victorian age or before, even if their consequences were not fully absorbed until the modern era. The microwave, however, was wholly new, a chance spin-off of the development of radar in the Second World War – the first ovens were called ‘Radaranges’. The first commercial applications and patents were based in the U.S.A. but there were parallel developments in Britain and Europe, the most important of which centred on the firms of J. Lyons & Co., and the Dutch firm of Philips.



This book is both a memoir of one man's professional career as well as a history of the industry in which he played a significant part in shaping the way millions of people prepare their daily meals.

Lewis Napleton