As the Junius Durrant posed for a picture with SaladMaster cookware, a woman crossing the street yelled "those are the best pots".

Such comments are nothing new, Mr. Durrant said, indeed during the time it took to interview the 74-year-old three people passing The Royal Gazette building commented on the cookware.

"My mum bought a set and she still has them 30 years later," one man said. "Hey, didn't you sell my grandmother a set of those?" another commented. And it's little wonder many people know of Mr. Durrant — he's been selling the surgical stainless steel cookware for 40 years and has racked up more than $500,000 worth of sales. To celebrate his success the SaladMaster company hosted a special milestone anniversary event last night.

Mr. Durrant's career began in 1968 when he answered an ad looking for a sales person. He was hesitant when he went for the interview and was told he would be selling cookware because he wasn't much of a chef.

"But they said that was OK," he said. "They didn't want to have to undo any bad habits. So I started working for them and it took off. I was doing demonstration dinners every night, going to people's houses and cooking a meal for them to show them how the products worked. Sometimes it was two dinners on Sundays."

Mr. Durrant said the sales came easy as people found the products appealing because they cooked food without adding excess water or oil and using low heat, which saved money on the electric bill.

Another appealing aspect was its detachable handle system, which makes stacking cookware into cabinets a simple task. SaladMaster's Solutions cookware line also contains the Vapo Valve which aids in preparing food at the correct temperature to ensure the best nutritional value and reduces the need for constant stirring, Mr. Durrant said.

The items have proved so popular, he said, that he is now selling them to the children and grandchildren of his first customers.

As for his anniversary, Mr. Durrant said he would have happily let it pass.

"I would have kept it low key," he said. "I don't like to be set up as a shining example, but the company wanted to celebrate it.

"I am really happy to still be selling these items and don't have any plans to stop. People say to me 'are you still selling those pots and pans?' And I tell them, 'No, I am selling SaladMaster and that is a world of difference. It's like chalk and cheese'."