Electric cooking appliance

An electric cooking appliance includes a plurality of heater lamps (3) supported by a frame (4, 5) having an opening so that light is radiated from the heater lamps (3) through the opening toward a light-transmissible top plate (7) disposed so as to cover the opening of the frame (4, 5), and a protector for protecting the heater lamps (3) against excessive increase of the ambient temperature of the heater lamps (3). The protector includes a temperature sensor (8) for sensing the ambient temperature of the heater lamps (3) or the temperature of a portion of the electric cooking appliance depending on the ambient temperature of the heater lamps (3), the temperature sensor (8) generating a state detection signal when the sensed temperature reaches a predetermined value, and an output controller (18) for controlling output of the heater lamps (3) so that a set output of the heater lamps (3) is reduced in response to the state detection signal supplied thereto from the temperature sensor (8), with the result that the heating for the cooking is continued under the condition that the calorific power of the heater lamps (3) is maintained at a small value.