A grill is provided. The grill comprising: an oven configured to maintain a holding temperature within the oven; one or more grilling stations located in the oven, each of the one or more grilling stations comprising: an upper platen assembly including an upper grilling plate; a lower platen assembly including a lower grilling plate opposite the upper grilling plate, the upper grilling plate being separated from the lower grilling plate by a distance; one or more actuators operably connected to at least one of the upper platen assembly and the lower platen assembly, wherein the one or more actuators are configured to adjust the distance; and a conveyor belt located between the upper grilling plate and the lower grilling plate, wherein the conveyer belt is configured to move a food product between the upper grilling plate and the lower grilling plate.

Heating systems utilizing radio frequency (RF) energy and methods for using the same to rapidly and uniformly heat packaged articles moving through the system on one or more convey lines. These systems may be useful for a variety of processes, including the pasteurization or sterilization of packaged foodstuffs.

Heating systems utilizing radio frequency (RF) energy and methods for using the same to rapidly and uniformly heat packaged articles moving through the system on one or more convey lines. These systems may be useful for a variety of processes, including the pasteurization or sterilization of packaged foodstuffs.

A heat transfer system for cooking a food product is provided. The heat transfer system includes an enclosure, heat sources within the enclosure operate to output heat for a cooking process, at least one conveyor positioned relative to the cooking heat elements, and a warming assembly. The warming assembly is configured to receive at least one pan configured to store cooked food product. The warming assembly defines an controlled environment about the at least one pan. A blocking element defines an opening through the enclosure into the controlled environment of the warming assembly.

A conveyor toaster for toasting a customized pattern with multiple levels of brownness on a surface of sliced bread is disclosed. The present invention provides an apparatus including a processor, a moistening chamber; and a heating chamber. The moistening chamber further includes a nozzle for discharging water to the sliced bread; and a sliding track allowing the nozzle to move along. The heating chamber further includes a plurality of heating elements. The processor is configured to control a pump motor for adjusting the amount of water discharged from the nozzle and a movement of the nozzle along the sliding track to coordinates determined according to the customized pattern for positioning the nozzle above a region on the sliced bread, wherein the amount of water discharged over the region is determined according to the coordinates and the customized pattern.

A fully automated cooking system achieves unmanned and fully automated meal cooking through a mobile transport device, multiple cooking devices, multiple heating devices and other peripheral devices. The mobile transport device uses a circulating conveyor belt to form a cyclic travel path, along which a feeding station area, a heating station area, a discharging station area and a cleaning station area are defined. Each station area is provided with corresponding equipment, such as feeding device, heating device and cleaning device. Each cooking device includes a swivel mechanism disposed on the circulating conveyor belt, and a heating container coupled to the swivel mechanism. The heating container can stir the ingredients when heated and pour out food when cooking is complete. The heating device can be an electric heating device or a fuel gas heating device for heating the heating container to cook food, thereby achieving fully automated cooking.

A cooking apparatus having a cooking chamber, a cooking drawer, a solid fuel support drawer, gas burners, and an ash drawer. One of the cassettes positionable in the cooking drawer can be a belt conveyor which can transport food between end doors of the cooking chamber. A front door of the chamber, when open, allows for the cooking drawer with a partially-cooked food item to be removed and moved to another location for inspection/manipulation of the food item, and then returned to the cooking chamber. Infrared burners on the ceiling of the cooking chamber are directed down to the cooking drawer. Hot exhaust gases in the cooking chamber pass through the housing to a top area for food cooking/warming. A flickering flame assembly creates flickering flames in the back of the chamber which are visible from both the front and the back of the cooking apparatus.

Apparatus (10) for cooking food comprising: at least one heating stage (30, 40); a conveyor system (50) defining a predetermined path (60) extending from a loading region (70), through the at least one heating stage (30, 40), and onward to an unloading region (80); and means (100) for releasably holding food on the conveyor system (50) as the food on the conveyor system is transported through the at least one heating stage (30, 40).

A forced hot air roller conveyor drying assembly is provided. It consists primarily of two parts; a roller conveyor for rolling cylindrical elongated food members while transporting them horizontally from one end of the conveyor to the other, and a hot air drying assembly for blowing hot air around the product as it is being rolled. The combined rolling of the product and the drying of the product helps ensure that the physical roundness of the food product remains nice and uniform while it is being uniformly dried. The forced hot air assembly may include a fan and heating elements, the fan directing warm air to the product rolling horizontally through the assembly and the roller conveyor may be comprised of a multiplicity of paired roller members driven by chain links, which chains are in turn driven by an axle engaging a drive sprocket.

A rotisserie oven for cooking food, eg spatchcock chicken, comprises an oven enclosure (23), a solid fuel conveyor (2) for conveying a burning solid fuel (eg charcoal) bed through the oven enclosure, and a food conveyor (3) crossing the solid conveyor transversely within the oven enclosure. The charcoal is lit outside the oven enclosure by a gas burner (21) and high temperature combustion, eg at 250 C. to 450 C., is supported by a jet of hot air (c) injected by a hot air blower (19) into the oven enclosure. Hot combustion gas circulates within the enclosure and the speed of the solid fuel conveyor is controlled in response to the output signal of a thermocouple (17) to maintain a desired cooking temperature.