Cooking apparatus with thermally shielded temperature sensor

A cooking apparatus, comprising:

• a heating element;
• a cooking plate arranged and configured to be heated by the heating element, the cooking plate having a first surface facing the heating element and a cooking surface opposite the first surface;
• a temperature sensor proximate the first surface and associated with a heating element control;
• an insulating heat shield arrangement partially surrounding the temperature sensor and shielding a shielded portion of the first surface adjacent the thermostat from direct heating by the heating element, the insulating heat shield arrangement configured to provide a through the plate thermal resistance Rh between the shielded portion of the first surface at the temperature sensor and a directly heated portion of the first surface outside the shielded portion;
• the cooking plate configured such that a through the plate thermal resistance Rc is provided between the shielded portion of the first surface at the temperature sensor and the cooking surface;
• wherein the insulating heat shield arrangement is configured such that the through the plate thermal resistance Rh is at least about 90% of the through the plate thermal resistance Rc.

A method of designing a cooking plate configuration for a cooking apparatus, the method comprising the steps of:

• determining a location for a thermostat element along a heated surface of the cooking plate;
• determining a through the plate thermal resistance Rc between a cooking surface of the cooking plate and the defined location of the thermostat element;
• determining a lateral distance from the thermostat element that results in a lateral through the plate thermal resistance Rh that is at least about 90% of the through the plate thermal resistance Rc;
• and
• defining a heat shield configuration that corresponds to the determined lateral distance.