Patent ID: 7217906

Claim:
A dual function heating and toasting apparatus for radiantly heating or surface toasting bread-type food products, comprising: a housing defining a heating/toasting chamber; a generally vertically oriented, center fixed heating platen disposed in the chamber; a pair of generally vertically oriented, outside fixed heating platens spaced outwardly from opposite sides of the center fixed platen; a pair of generally vertically oriented, movable heating platens disposed on opposite sides of the center fixed platen inside the pair of outside fixed platens; and gate means movably mounted on the housing near the bottoms of the platens for movement between a closed position to hold a product between the platens and an open position allowing a finished product to exit the chamber, whereby a bagel-like product can be placed into the chamber onto the gate means between one of the movable platens and one of the fixed platens and spaced therefrom to heat the bagel by radiant heat, or a product such as a bun can be placed into the chamber onto the gate means between one of the movable platens and one of the fixed platens with the movable platen biasing the bun against the fixed platen to surface toast the bun, the gate means being movable to the open position to allow the heated bagel or the toasted bun to exit the chamber.