Staged fryer heating system

A fryer comprising:

• a fry pot configured to receive a cooking medium;
• a plurality of heating elements each configured to provide heat to the cooking medium;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to the heating elements and configured to:
• control an amount of heat provided to the cooking medium by selectively activating the heating elements based on a setpoint temperature, the setpoint temperature being set to a target cooking temperature;
• receive an order for an amount of a food product to be cooked;
• in response to receiving the order, select a set of setpoint bias temperatures from a plurality of different sets of setpoint bias temperatures based on the amount of the food product to be cooked, each setpoint bias temperature of the selected set of setpoint bias temperatures defining a threshold temperature below the target cooking temperature;
• in response to a sensed temperature of the cooking medium being below a first threshold temperature defined by the selected set of setpoint bias temperatures, but above a second threshold temperature defined by the selected set of setpoint bias temperatures, activate a first heating element of the plurality of heating elements;
• and
• in response to the sensed temperature of the cooking medium being below the second threshold temperature, activate a second heating element of the plurality of heating elements.