Abstract: Food smoker with self-basting features and relatively low thermal conductivity chip bowls. A lid of the food smoker may include downward pointing protrusions to control dripping onto food being smoked. This self-basting feature reduces the need to open the food smoker to baste the food smoking. The food smoker may include a ceramic chip bowl to reduce the rate of consumption of wood chips used to add flavoring to the food being smoked. This further reduces the need to open the food smoker. The housing of the smoker may be constructed with inner and outer walls, minimizing the heat loss during the cooking process. In combination, these features result in an improved food smoker that requires less user interaction than traditional systems. Moreover, the food smoker may need to be opened fewer times during the smoking process, which reduces heat loss and thus leads to greater energy efficiency.