a body providing a horizontally extending floor including a floor portion, and a ceiling, with the floor and ceiling at least partly surrounding a cooking cavity, the body having an opening via which a pizza can be moved in and out of the cooking appliance, the floor portion having a central axis extending perpendicularly between the floor and the ceiling in the cavity, with the floor portion extending outwardly from the axis to a periphery of the floor portion, the cavity having a periphery at least partly surrounding a cooking area adjacent the floor portion, the pizza being received in the cooking area for cooking during a cooking cycle of the cooking appliance;

a heating element located in an upper portion of the cavity to deliver direct radiant energy to cook the pizza; and

a shield integral to the heating element and at least partly surrounding the heating element to shield a portion of the cooking area from the direct radiant energy,

wherein the heating element includes a tubular sheath having a central longitudinal axis, with the shield at least partly surrounding the tubular sheath,

wherein in a cross-sectional plane extending perpendicular to the axis through the sheath and the shield, the shield forms an arc having a radius that matches a radius of an outer surface of the sheath, and

wherein endpoints of the arc locate on a line, with the line forming a boundary between an inner portion of the cooking area shielded from the direct radiant energy and an outer portion of the cooking area unshielded from the direct radiant energy.