Patent ID: 8166870

Claim:
An apparatus for cooking food by contact, comprising: a combustion chamber having a bottom wall; an inclined continuous cooking surface, the cooking surface forming a generally circular shape, the cooking surface having: an underside; and a front edge; a recess located at the front edge of the cooking surface, the recess being adapted to dispose of cooking by-products from food heated on the cooking surface; a burner configured to heat the underside of the continuous cooking surface, the burner being housed in the combustion chamber; a portable gas fuel tank for supplying fuel to the burner; an outer casing having the shape of a truncated cone; a plurality of ventilation holes passing through the bottom wall of the combustion chamber, the plurality of ventilation holes being sized and shaped differently and located in different positions to supply outside air to the burner, so as to allow a selected gas combustion; a tube in fluid communication with the recess; a removable container in fluid communication with the tube, the container being adapted to store the cooking by-products from the food heated on the cooking surface, the container being positioned below the combustion chamber; wherein the cooking by-products from the food heated on the cooking surface passes through the recess, through the tube, and stored in the removable container; a peripheral raised frame formed by an inner strip obliquely raised from the cooking surface; a flat outer strip attached to the peripherally raised frame; and a plurality of holes passing through the outer strip for exhausting hot air from the combustion cooking chamber; wherein the combustion chamber is defined by a peripheral sheet having a shape of a truncated cone having a top end and a bottom end, which, at the top end, is closed by the cooking surface and, at the bottom end, is closed by the bottom wall; wherein the continuous cooking surface, the combustion chamber and the burner form a cooking unit that is removably mounted on a supporting cart suited to house the portable gas fuel tank and to allow the use of the apparatus either in an indoor or in an outdoor environment; wherein the peripheral raised frame is configured to fit within the combustion chamber; and wherein the combustion chamber is configured to fit within the outer casing.