For finish cooking spaghetti, a steam cabinet includes a plurality of individual cooking compartments substantially closed except for an access opening in a front wall just large enough to receive a loaded cooking vessel. Steam nozzle means are disposed in the cooking compartments in a plane adjacent to the upper edge of the access opening for directing steam directly onto and through the food. In the use of this apparatus, partially precooked spaghetti is divided into serving portions, placed in cooking vessels, and inserted in cooking compartments in a selected compartment sequence. After finish cooking, which requires only a few seconds, the compartments are unloaded in the same sequence first removing the cooking vessel from the compartment and immediately transferring it to a preheated serving plate for delivery to the customer in the most palatable condition.