Patent ID: 7980171

Claim:
A cooking or warming appliance comprising: a. an outer shell; b. a food vessel having a cooking surface on an interior surface, said food vessel removably positioned within the outer shell and defining a space between an exterior surface of the food vessel and an interior surface of the outer shell when the food vessel is placed therein; c. sealing means co-acting between the outer shell and the food vessel; d. means for selectively activating and deactivating a vacuum condition in said space; e. a metal heat sink plate positioned within said space, adapted to forcibly and uniformly contact the exterior surface of the food vessel beneath said cooking surface when the vacuum is activated; f. electric heating means positioned within said space to heat said heat sink plate when the vacuum is activated; and g. means for spacing said heat sink plate and heating means from the interior surface of the outer shell, whereby said vacuum condition when activated surrounds said heat sink plate and heating means within said outer shell to permit heat to pass only by conduction from the heat sink plate to said cooking surface.