An oven comprising: a cooking chamber configured to receive a food product; a user interface configured to display information associated with processes employed for cooking the food product; a first energy source using RF energy providing primary heating of a food product placed in the oven, and a second energy source providing secondary heating for the food product; a cooking controller operably coupled to the first and second energy sources (20, 30) configured to execute instructions associated with a cooking program directing application of energy to the food product via at least one of the first or second energy sources (20, 30) for a program cooking time and comprising processing circuitry configured to: receive an indication of cooking parameters entered by an operator of the oven, the cooking parameters defining at least a food product category of the food product; characterized by the processing circuitry being further configured to select a cooking signature corresponding to the food product category, the cooking signature including information descriptive of inherent RF absorption properties of the food product category and input response properties defining one or more sets of instructions associated with a cooking sequence for the food product, the one or more sets of instructions being selectable for execution from instructions associated with the cooking signature based on the cooking parameters and the information descriptive of the inherent RF absorption properties. a cooking chamber configured to receive a food product; a user interface configured to display information associated with processes employed for cooking the food product; a first energy source using RF energy providing primary heating of a food product placed in the oven, and a second energy source providing secondary heating for the food product; a cooking controller operably coupled to the first and second energy sources (20, 30) configured to execute instructions associated with a cooking program directing application of energy to the food product via at least one of the first or second energy sources (20, 30) for a program cooking time and comprising processing circuitry configured to: receive an indication of cooking parameters entered by an operator of the oven, the cooking parameters defining at least a food product category of the food product; characterized by the processing circuitry being further configured to select a cooking signature corresponding to the food product category, the cooking signature including information descriptive of inherent RF absorption properties of the food product category and input response properties defining one or more sets of instructions associated with a cooking sequence for the food product, the one or more sets of instructions being selectable for execution from instructions associated with the cooking signature based on the cooking parameters and the information descriptive of the inherent RF absorption properties. receive an indication of cooking parameters entered by an operator of the oven, the cooking parameters defining at least a food product category of the food product; characterized by the processing circuitry being further configured to select a cooking signature corresponding to the food product category, the cooking signature including information descriptive of inherent RF absorption properties of the food product category and input response properties defining one or more sets of instructions associated with a cooking sequence for the food product, the one or more sets of instructions being selectable for execution from instructions associated with the cooking signature based on the cooking parameters and the information descriptive of the inherent RF absorption properties.