Light is first gathered by the lower mirrors, then reflected to the upper mirror, which then concentrates the light down onto the cook pot. The cook pot is located near or on ground level. There is little chance of the cook looking into the concentrated sunlight and thus incurring eye injury. If the cook wants to reduce the heat (from a boil to a simmer), she or he only needs to toss a piece of cloth onto the lower mirrors, covering them enough as needed. For fried foods the griddle is heated first, then the food is added, allowing cooking to happen from above and below.