An automatic cooking system (10, 70, 90) for frying food products, comprising: a cooking vat (12, 54, 74, 100, 130) configured to hold a cooking medium and to receive food product, the cooking vat defining at least one elongated lane (14, 52, 76) extending between an inlet end (20, 60, 80, 104) where the food product is inserted into the cooking vat and an outlet end (22, 62, 82, 106) where the food product is removed from the cooking vat, wherein each lane of the cooking vat includes a bottom wall and sidewalls extending along the lane; and an oil recirculation and filtration system (16, 18) in communication with the inlet end and the outlet end of the cooking vat, the oil recirculation and filtration system configured to generate a continuous flow of the cooking medium from the inlet end to the outlet end; characterized by: a heating element coupled to at least one of the bottom wall and the sidewalls of the cooking vat, the heating element comprising at least one printed heating element (108, 140) directly coupled to the cooking vat so as to transfer heat by conduction to uniformly heat the cooking medium; a controller operatively coupled to the oil recirculation and filtration system and to the heating element; and a temperature sensor coupled directly to the heating element and configured to measure a heater temperature of the heating element and communicate the heater temperature to the controller, wherein the controller controls the heating element to prevent the heater temperature exceeding a temperature that may lead to a dry fire condition. a cooking vat (12, 54, 74, 100, 130) configured to hold a cooking medium and to receive food product, the cooking vat defining at least one elongated lane (14, 52, 76) extending between an inlet end (20, 60, 80, 104) where the food product is inserted into the cooking vat and an outlet end (22, 62, 82, 106) where the food product is removed from the cooking vat, wherein each lane of the cooking vat includes a bottom wall and sidewalls extending along the lane; and an oil recirculation and filtration system (16, 18) in communication with the inlet end and the outlet end of the cooking vat, the oil recirculation and filtration system configured to generate a continuous flow of the cooking medium from the inlet end to the outlet end; characterized by: a heating element coupled to at least one of the bottom wall and the sidewalls of the cooking vat, the heating element comprising at least one printed heating element (108, 140) directly coupled to the cooking vat so as to transfer heat by conduction to uniformly heat the cooking medium; a controller operatively coupled to the oil recirculation and filtration system and to the heating element; and a temperature sensor coupled directly to the heating element and configured to measure a heater temperature of the heating element and communicate the heater temperature to the controller, wherein the controller controls the heating element to prevent the heater temperature exceeding a temperature that may lead to a dry fire condition. a heating element coupled to at least one of the bottom wall and the sidewalls of the cooking vat, the heating element comprising at least one printed heating element (108, 140) directly coupled to the cooking vat so as to transfer heat by conduction to uniformly heat the cooking medium; a controller operatively coupled to the oil recirculation and filtration system and to the heating element; and a temperature sensor coupled directly to the heating element and configured to measure a heater temperature of the heating element and communicate the heater temperature to the controller, wherein the controller controls the heating element to prevent the heater temperature exceeding a temperature that may lead to a dry fire condition.