Patent ID: 7087867

Claim:
A cooking apparatus for cooking food, comprising: a housing having an interior portion; a support member located in the housing for supporting a food item to be cooked; a lower heating element located in the housing below the support member and adapted to produce heat; a first upper heating element located in the housing above the support structure and adapted to produce heat; a power source for supplying electrical power from an electricity source, the electrical power providing the energy to heat to the upper heating element and the lower heating element; a controller coupled to the power source and each of the upper and lower heating elements, wherein the controller is adapted to provide electrical power to each of the upper heating element and lower heating element independently of one another, and wherein the controller comprises a memory programmed with software in which: a first temperature set point that corresponds to the lower heating element; a second temperature set point that corresponds to the first upper heating element; and at least one programmed cooking sequence having a specified time period, wherein the at least one programmed cooking sequence utilizes both the first upper heating element and the lower heating element during the specified time period; a thermocouple adapted to measure the temperature inside the housing, the thermocouple further adapted to transmit the temperature measurement inside the housing to the controller, wherein the controller is adapted to cease provision of electrical power to the lower heating element when the temperature transmitted by the thermocouple is greater than the first temperature set point, the controller is adapted to provide electrical power to the lower heating element when the temperature transmitted by the thermocouple is lower than the first temperature set point, the controller is adapted to cease provision of electrical power to the upper heating element when the temperature transmitted by the sensor is greater than the second temperature set point, and the controller is adapted to provide electrical power to the upper heating element when the temperature transmitted by the sensor is less than the second temperature set point; and wherein the first temperature set point is lower than the second temperature set point.