Our traditional larder style cupboard was totally designed and built from scratch. The walls are built from plasterboard and fully insulated from the inside of the house. This means that the airflow from the two vents (one at the top, one at the bottom), keep it cool.

The inside is fully lined with 25mm (1in) granite on the top, bottom, sides and back. This is a vast improvement on old style larders, which had only one granite shelf usually. If we require a cooler temperature within the larder we put a frozen two-litre bottle of water on the top shelf and because cold air drops, it cools the whole space sufficiently to keep our food safe.

Although we achieve good cool temperatures, it is no match for a conventional fridge and therefore we have changed our shopping and storing habits to suit. Foods such as cheese stores well if you remove it from its plastic packing and wrap in paper. Salad keeps surprisingly well – largely due to the airflow that keeps food in a more natural state, rather than in a closed plastic box!