Abstract: Semiautomatic food frying apparatus is disclosed which provides apparatus which may be easily and safely operated to prepare small portions of various food products. In one embodiment, the food frying apparatus includes an upright cabinet with a fan assembly mounted to exhaust air through the top of the cabinet while drawing air in, through and from the lower portion of the cabinet. A removable one-piece filter unit is positioned in the path of air flow to remove odors, gases, smoke, etc. . . . from the air before the air is exhausted back into the room. The removable filter includes a paper filter together with activated charcoal particles configured as an integral unit. In another embodiment, the fan assembly and filter unit are replaced by a closed-loop air cleaning system which does not discharge the internal air of the apparatus into the room. A container for holding a supply of cooking oil is located in the lower portion of the cabinet.

Abstract: Food frying apparatus is disclosed which provides apparatus which may be easily and safely operated to prepare small portions of various food products. The food frying apparatus includes an upright cabinet with a fan assembly mounted in the upper-most portion of the cabinet to exhaust air through the top of the cabinet while drawing air in, through and from the lower portion of the cabinet. A removable one-piece filter unit is positioned in the path of air flow to remove odors, gases, smoke, etc. from the air before the air is exhausted back into the room. The removable filter includes a paper filter together with activated charcoal particles configured as an integral unit. A container for holding a supply of cooking oil is located in the lower portion of the cabinet and is positioned in an insulative shroud with a resulting decrease in BTU's required to operate the apparatus. The heater element is embedded in the bottom portion of the container and does not directly contact the cooking oil.