Numerous cooking appliances of the barbecue or grill type currently exist on the market, intended for the general public or reserved for professional use, the various models differing from each other mainly by the source of heat used to cook the foodstuffs.
Thus, while some grill the foodstuffs using embers or smoke obtained by burning wood or charcoal, others are based on the use of an electric element or a gas burner.
Irrespective of the heat source used, most traditional barbecues are designed so that the cooking surface on which the foodstuffs are arranged, generally a grill, plate or skewer, and the heating surface containing the embers, the electrical element or the gas burner, are located opposite each other in superimposed planes, said cooking surface being above said heating surface.
Thus, publication U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,651, for example, describes a grill burning charcoal, comprising a cooking surface and a heating surface inclined at 45° to the ground, and in which the cooking surface extends above the heating surface. With this type of configuration in which the cooking surface is above the heating surface, at least some of the cooking juices and fats running from the foodstuffs while they cook inevitably fall onto the heat source located below, and are immediately carbonized, generating toxic smoke containing compounds recognized as being highly carcinogenic. These compounds may in particular prove especially dangerous when using this type of cooking appliance in a closed environment, such as an apartment. Furthermore, the cooking appliance described in publication U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,651 may prove dangerous and in particular start a fire due to the type of fuel used or cause burns since no heat protection is planned for the user. Consequently, the user must remain permanently vigilant with this type of cooking appliance. In addition, the efficiency of this type of appliance is limited due to the fact that the foodstuffs are cooked by radiation through perforated sheets, and not directly.
Other solutions are also known, developed to avoid any contact between the substances running from the foodstuffs and said heating surface, to limit the emission of toxic and unpleasant smoke.
One of these, well known by those skilled in the art and described in particular in document FR 2 851 445, is based on the implementation of vertical cooking using cooking and heating surfaces placed opposite each other in vertical planes.
Nevertheless, while it reduces the quantity of toxic smoke caused by carbonization of the fats, this solution is not always entirely satisfactory.
Indeed, it has been observed that the fats running from the foodstuffs placed in the upper part of the cooking surface drip along the foodstuffs placed at lower levels, sometimes causing them to catch fire. In addition, although to a lesser extent, the fats always splash onto the heating surface, producing smells and other unpleasant fumes. Consequently therefore, this type of cooking appliance is not suitable for healthy cooking in an indoor environment.
Another alternative, known from document FR 2 527 919, is defined by an electric barbecue in which said cooking and heating surfaces are also arranged opposite each other in horizontal planes but where, however, said heating surface is located above said cooking surface. Once again, the problem of toxic smoke is not fully resolved, since the fats always splash onto the electrical element where they are carbonized, emitting smoke and unpleasant smells.
Another solution, described in publication DE 91 12 110 concerns a barbecue fueled with charcoal. It comprises an ember tray whose front side, equipped with slots, defines a heating surface inclined at a closed angle with respect to the horizontal. The ember tray is supported by a frame comprising means for receiving a cooking grill intended to be placed opposite the front side of the ember tray in an inclined plane parallel to that of said front side. The ember tray is free to move horizontally with respect to the cooking grill, either towards it or away from it to regulate the cooking power. The barbecue also comprises a surface to catch the fats running from the foodstuffs while they cook. Although it limits the emission of toxic and unpleasant smoke, this type of barbecue nevertheless exhibits several drawbacks such as pollution of the foodstuffs by the combustion products, i.e. the embers and the ashes. Indeed, it does not remove the risks of burns for the user or the risks of fire due to the use of embers, which also limits its implementation to an outdoor environment and prevents any use in apartment. In addition, it is very bulky which means that a large storage area is required and it is difficult to transport.
Furthermore, like the devices mentioned above, the traditional cooking appliances of grill or barbecue type are not satisfactory as regards the heat sources commonly implemented.
Wood, in fact, not only has a certain degree of inertia but may also be dangerous. In addition, numerous traditional cooking appliances of grill or barbecue type operate in an “all or nothing” mode and allow no adjustment of the cooking temperature. Consequently, the foodstuffs must be monitored constantly during cooking then moved away from the heating surface as soon as the desired degree of cooking has been obtained, offering little flexibility and little possibility of keeping the foodstuffs hot after cooking.