New infrared-light oven goes from 0 to 500 degrees in one second for efficient cooking

Lindsay West is cooking in a high-tech oven called Brava.

It's a countertop oven that the makers claim will do anything a convection, grill, microwave or regular oven can do - only faster and better via infrared bulbs.

"Cherry tomatoes are going to go in zone one, salmon in zone two, broccolini in zone three. Typically you would need three different pots and pans," said West, a Brava chef.

"Basically the oven can go from 0 to 500 in under a second. The bulbs can actually go to thousands of degrees but we can change multiple times per second the frequency or the color of the light to cook," said CEO John Pleasants of Brava.

Salmon can be seared, broccolini can be charred and tomatoes cooked to perfection all at once with the press of a button.

"What you have to do is tell the oven what you want and what the end result is. It's going to tell you when it's about to be done it's going to tell you when it 'is' done and you're not going have to do anything but open up the oven," said Travis Rea, with Brava culinary development.

Rea says he's used his real oven 95 percent less since getting a Brava,

Pleasants says this is the brainchild of three guys in a Palo Alto garage, creating a new way to cook that is fast, efficient, precise and powerful.

"We have very sophisticated heating sensors - probably have the most sophisticated food thermometer that's ever been made. There's cameras, there's machine vision, all in the service of delivering the perfect cook," Pleasants said.

"I'm thinking more how cool it would be to have the smaller oven in a small space. I live in an apartment," said Kim Crum of Westwood.

Keep in mind technology has its price. This oven is $995 but economically and heat and energy-wise there can be a savings.

"We can cook an entire meal with less energy than it takes to preheat your oven," said Rea.

For those who want even more culinary help, Brava offers a meal delivery service of sorts, sourcing food from premier purveyors, delivered to your door.