A cooking appliance has a combustion zone air flow path which includes a combustion zone. A first cooking zone is positioned in thermal communication with the combustion zone. During operation of the cooking appliance, combustion products produced in the combustion zone indirectly heat air whereby heated air is produced that is then introduced into the combustion zone and/or the first cooking zone.

A cooking appliance has a combustion zone air flow path which includes a combustion zone. A first cooking zone is positioned in thermal communication with the combustion zone. During operation of the cooking appliance, combustion products produced in the combustion zone indirectly heat air whereby heated air is produced that is then introduced into the combustion zone and/or the first cooking zone.

A motor-actuated actuated-vent-valve is configured to operatively couple to a vent port of a solid-fueled cooker. The vent port is in series with both a flow of air into a combustion region of the cooker, and a flow of resulting combustion gases from the cooker, the flow of air being responsive to a position of the actuated-vent-valve. A first controller adapted to receive a sensed-temperature signal responsive to a temperature within a cooking region of the cooker, and operatively coupled to an externally-located actuator motor of the motor-actuated actuated-vent-valve, provides for automatically electronically controlling the position of the actuated-vent-valve to a continuum of positions within a range of the positions, thereby substantially regulating the first temperature within the cooking region of the solid-fueled cooker to a user-defined temperature level responsive to the sensed-temperature signal by controlling an exclusively-naturally-occurring flow of air into the combustion region of the cooker.

A motor-actuated actuated-vent-valve is configured to operatively couple to a vent port of a solid-fueled cooker. The vent port is in series with both a flow of air into a combustion region of the cooker, and a flow of resulting combustion gases from the cooker, the flow of air being responsive to a position of the actuated-vent-valve. A first controller adapted to receive a sensed-temperature signal responsive to a temperature within a cooking region of the cooker, and operatively coupled to an externally-located actuator motor of the motor-actuated actuated-vent-valve, provides for automatically electronically controlling the position of the actuated-vent-valve to a continuum of positions within a range of the positions, thereby substantially regulating the first temperature within the cooking region of the solid-fueled cooker to a user-defined temperature level responsive to the sensed-temperature signal by controlling an exclusively-naturally-occurring flow of air into the combustion region of the cooker.

The object of the present invention is an automated oven for producing and cooking bakery products, such as pizzas and the like.

The object of the present invention is an automated oven for producing and cooking bakery products, such as pizzas and the like.

Cooking apparatus comprises an oven. The oven comprises a cooking chamber, a heated air source and two or more vents through which, in use, heated air can vent from the cooking chamber. The two or more vents comprise at least one lower vent and at least one upper vent. The at least one lower vent is provided at a lower height than the at least one upper vent. The at least one upper vent is controllable to regulate a flow of heated air therethrough.

An automated self-contained pellet grill includes a base housing that defines a heat distribution chamber with a cooking grid supported in an opening at the top of the base for supporting food to be cooked. A pellet burning mechanism, located within the housing, includes a pellet feeder driven by an electrical motor. Electrical power is provided for the motor by a thermoelectric generator having a hot side that is heated by burning pellets and a cold side that is cooled by flowing ambient air.

A cooking system includes a housing having a hollow interior, a heating element operable to heat to said hollow interior, a food support surface arranged within said hollow interior, and a combustible substrate module removably positionable in said housing. When positioned in the housing, the combustible substrate module is arranged in fluid communication with the hollow interior and the combustible substrate module is disposed remote of the food support surface.

A cooking apparatus can include an enclosure defining a heating chamber configured to be heated and used for cooking food, a burn box proximate to the enclosure and which is configured to provide heat to the heating chamber, a hopper fluidly coupled to the burn box and configured to hold fuel, and a fuel conditioner disposed between the hopper and the burner to condition the fuel prior to burning in the burner. The fuel conditioner can be, for example, a wood chipper configured to reduce the size of the fuel.