A method of controlling a cooking apparatus includes identifying an initial thickness of a food product on a lower heating plate of the cooking apparatus and calculating a difference between an initial gap value corresponding to the initial thickness of the food product and a predefined final gap value. The method includes controlling at least one of a pressure of at least one of an upper heating plate and a lower heating plate on the food product, a rate of descent of the upper heating plate toward the lower heating plate, and a rate of ascent of the lower heating plate toward the upper heating plate based on the calculated difference between the initial gap value and the predefined final gap value.

A cooking system includes a grill, a first arm assembly and a second arm assembly. An electronic hardware controller is in signal communication with the at least one grill, the first arm assembly and the second arm assembly. The controller operates the first arm assembly to transfer a prepared product to the grill, and operates the second arm assembly to transfer a cooked product from the grill.

Provided is a cooking appliance comprising a first structure having a hot plate for cooking food, and a measuring device for measuring the thickness of the food arranged thereon and comprising a pivoting rocker connected to a pivotable shaft by a first end thereof, and a means for measuring the pivoting angle of the rocker in order to estimate the thickness of the food. The appliance comprises a second mobile structure which, when moved away from the first structure, generates a pivoting of said shaft in relation to the first structure, causing the pivoting of the rocker, and the measuring means interacts with the rocker towards a second end thereof.

A device for creating partial cuts, such as transverse spiral cuts, into an elongated food product, such as hot dogs, frankfurters, and wieners, the device having an upper housing section with at least one top blade and a lower housing section with at least one bottom blade, wherein closing the top housing on top of the lower housing with the elongated food product inside allows the top blades and the bottom blades to partially cut through the elongated food product creating a helical groove pattern around the outer surface of the elongated food product while leaving an inner core intact. The device may also have guide channels to guide a skewer through the inner core for easy removal of the food product from the housing. The device can also be provided as a kit with skewers, modified tongs, and a heating unit to cook the food product in the housing.

A sandwich maker includes a base, a first hot-pressing module, a connecting rod set, a second hot-pressing module, a driving motor, and a control module. The first hot-pressing module is assembled to the base. The connecting rod set is pivotally disposed on the base and pivots between a standby position and a heating position. The second hot-pressing module is assembled to the connecting rod set, and is moved between the standby position and the heating position driven by the connecting rod set. At the standby position, the second hot-pressing module is far away from the first hot-pressing module. At the heating position, the second hot-pressing module correspondingly covers the first hot-pressing module. The driving motor is connected to and drives the connecting rod set. The control module is electrically connected to and controls the first hot-pressing module, the second hot-pressing module, and the driving motor.

An automated vertical grill system includes a food storage unit having laminated food product therein; a food dispensing unit; a vertical grill; a conveyor; and a staging bin. The food dispensing unit includes a delamination trolley, which moves horizontally above the vertical grill and delaminates laminated food product into a cooking unit of the vertical grill.

An asymmetrical planar bread food product comprising a first baked surface formed in a first pattern and a second baked surface formed in a second pattern different from the first pattern. Preferably, the first pattern is a waffle pattern and the second pattern is a smooth surface. An apparatus for forming a planar bread food product comprises a first baking plate having a first surface formed in a first pattern, a second baking plate opposed to the first baking plate and having a second surface formed in a second pattern different from the first pattern, a first heating element disposed adjacent to the first baking plate, and a second heating element disposed adjacent to the second baking plate, wherein the second surface is off-spaced by a stop from the first surface thereby defining a baking chamber therebetween.

A grill device includes upper and lower grill units. The upper grill unit has a feed opening. The lower grill unit includes a lower grill plate having a plate body and a flow-diverging stage. The plate body has a central portion that is adapted to be positioned under and aligned with the feed opening, and a surrounding portion that surrounds the central portion. The flow-diverging stage protrudes upwardly from the central portion of the plate body, and has a flow-diverging convex surface that faces the feed opening and that is for diverging flow of a fluid material which flows from the feed opening onto the plate body. The flow-diverging convex surface has a top end positioned higher than the plate body.

In an example of an ordering method, an application receives an order for a product. The application may be an in-vehicle application resident on a memory of an in-vehicle infotainment unit of a vehicle or a mobile-device application resident on a memory of a mobile device. Without contacting a merchant of the product, the application determines a preparation time for the product. The application dynamically determines an estimated time of arrival of the vehicle or the mobile device at a location of the merchant. The application holds the order for the product until the estimated time of arrival is equal to or less than the preparation time for the product.

A waffle iron plate for forming a waffle having multiple scores, the plate comprising a base having a front surface and at least two spaced-apart ribs extending from the front surface of the base and configured to form the scores, whereby the waffle may be folded along the scores so as to have a bottom portion and two side portions.