An enclosure for a chafer stand is provided. The enclosure is configured to cover at least three sides of the chafer stand, protecting it from wind and cold air, and configured to keep food stored in the chafer stand warm. Further, a sneeze guard extends from a rear or side of the enclosure which extends above and over at least a portion of the chafer stand, allowing a user to access the food stored within the chafer stand from the front, and protecting it from above from breath, coughing, sneezing, and the like.

An improved chafer rack and panel assembly having hingedly attached and removable wind-shield panels connected to integral wire bars of the chafer rack.

The invention is a cooking container with steam eliminating function comprising: an outer container 10 and having an lid 13 and a steam vent 14; an inner container 20 being inserted in the outer container 10; a heating material 30 disposed in the outer container 10 and generating heat by reacting with water; a steam blocking means 40 including a cooling body 41 having a cooling chamber 42a to be filled with cooling means 44, and a steam exhaust pipe 45 provided in the cooling chamber 42a of the cooling body 41 and a part of it being exposed outside of the cooling body 41 and the exposed end of it being removably engaged into the steam vent 14 of the outer container 10.

A vacuum low-temperature cooker includes a main body having a heating unit immersed in fluid accommodated in an accommodation tub and heating the fluid, a vacuum packaging unit connected to the main body and vacuum-sealing a packaging film, and a control unit installed in the main body or the vacuum packaging unit, and electrically connected to the heating unit and the vacuum packaging unit so as to control the heating unit and the vacuum packaging unit.

A rugged, one-piece, portable, collapsible, insulating chafing dish frame includes an integral wind screen and is configured for application in elegant formal events. The one-piece, portable and collapsible construction allows caterers and tailgaters to easily transport the frame to the desired location. The integrated wind screen allows the unit to be efficiently used in outdoor locations, such as by tailgaters and caterers. The insulating features can improve food service and decrease fuel consumption for the users. The hiding of conventional chafing dish frame components allows the unit to be associated with elegant formal events, increasing the usefulness to caterers.

A chafer device is provided to offer protection against wind, helping keep sterno burners from being extinguished so that food can be kept warm. The present invention provides a chafer device that comprises a skirt member and an attachment member. The skirt member is removably attached to a top perimeter of a chafing dish frame via the attachment member. The skirt member wraps around the chafing dish frame and extends downward from the top perimeter of the chafing dish frame to form a wall around the chafing dish frame, thereby enclosing a heat source below the chafing dish frame.

Predictive cooking systems and methods. A representative system can include a cooking device submergible in a container of fluid and a memory device storing instructions for causing a processor to receive information and determine heater set point temperature and on time. The processor can receive information indicative of one or more characteristics of a food item to be cooked in the fluid and a desired food temperature. The processor can perform a control process that can include sending instructions for controlling a heater, obtaining a temperature measurement of the fluid from a temperature sensor, determining a measurement of power delivered to the heater, determining constants related to corresponding physical characteristics of the fluid and/or the container based on at least one of the temperature measurement and the measurement of power, and determining a food temperature of the food item.

An improved flameless, non-electric chafing dish and an improved flameless non-electric heat source for use in connection therewith is provided. The chafing dish assembly includes a support frame for supporting the chafing dish on a serving surface, a lower (water) pan positioned on the support frame and having a bottom and one or more side walls, a food pan configured to nest inside the lower pan and having a bottom and one or more side walls, and an air-activated exothermic warming device positioned between the lower pan and the food pan. The warming device comprises a mixture of materials including iron which produce heat from the exothermic oxidation of iron when exposed to air. A support device configured for positioning between the air-activated exothermic warming device and the lower (water) pan is also provided. The support device is configured to permit airflow to the warming device and to elevate the warming device into direct contact with the food pan.

A collapsible chafing dish stand includes a rim that holds the chafing dish pan; a first leg formed into a first geometric shape having two ends each pivotally coupled to the rim; a second leg similarly formed with two ends each pivotally coupled to the rim; a first cross bar and a second cross bar each formed into a select geometric shape, and pivotally coupled to the first leg and the second leg, respectively; and a hook to releasably couple the first cross bar to the second cross bar to secure the first and second legs in a support position. The improved configuration permits manufacture of a stand with fewer wire bends, simplified hinges and hook, simplified coupling of cross bars, and simplified geometric shapes, all of which combine to minimize material usage, and be more economically producible in a highly competitive marketplace, while retaining structural integrity.

An automatic meat cutting apparatus includes: a skewer holding system to hold a skewer with meat in a vertical position and to rotate the skewer about a vertical axis of rotation, a grill unit to grill meat on the skewer, a meat cutting device to cut meat from the skewer, and an actuator system to move the cutting device with respect to the skewer. The automatic meat cutting apparatus further includes: a sensor device arranged to provide a sensor signal representative for a location of the meat on the skewer, and a processing unit to control the actuator system to move the cutting device to a desired cutting position on the basis of the sensor signal.