A cooking appliance includes a container for containing a cooking liquid; an electrical heating element for heating cooking liquid in the container; a perforated food receptacle comprising first and second adjacent baskets supported in the container for unitary rotation about a substantially horizontal axis, the baskets being openable from a closed food-containing configuration in which part of the receptacle passes through the cooking liquid in the container upon rotation of the receptacle, to enable insertion and removal of food pieces; and a drive mechanism for rotating the food receptacle about the axis.