Patent ID: 6849830

Claim:
An electrical heating assembly adapted to receive at least one food container which has a plurality of food retaining surfaces that demarcate a maximum volume of food that can be retained in the container, wherein the heating assembly comprises at least a first heating tray part and a second heating tray part; with both the first and second heating tray parts being arranged to define, after closing, a closed heating housing around the at least one food container; the housing comprising: heating surfaces with associated resistive elements and having an internal cavity that is configured and dimensioned to receive the at least one food container and to substantially match the shape of one or a plurality of the food retaining surfaces of the food container upon closing of the heating device so that one or more of the heating surfaces of the housing substantially contact the food retaining surfaces of the food container for direct conduction of heat from the heating surfaces to the food retaining surfaces to heat food in the container; and a controlling assembly that controls the temperature of the heating surfaces by profile control whereby the temperature of the heating surfaces sensed by at least one temperature measuring device is compared at one or more regular time intervals to a preset temperature profile stored in a control memory of the controlling assembly.