The present disclosure relates to an appliance. In one embodiment, the appliance has an enclosed structure which includes a first portion configured to receive one or more meal cartridges, and store and preserve the meal cartridges at a selected temperature range; a second portion; and transfer mechanism configured to transfer at least one meal cartridge in the first portion to the second portion within the enclosed structure in response to a command input for cooking the at least one meal cartridge. The second portion is configured to accept the at least one meal cartridge, receive a cooking instruction command including a cooking duration and temperature determined for the at least one meal cartridge, and cook the at least one meal cartridge based upon the cooking duration and temperature.