The measured and calculated properties of three collector-based solar cooking systems are described. Two of them have a direct single-stage heat-pipe coupling between collector and oven plate. The first one is heated by a flat-plate collector with 2.33 m(2) aperture area, while the second system is heated by one module of a Sydney vacuum-tube collector with 1.085 m(2) of aperture area. The third system with a double-stage thermal coupling is heated by two Sydney modules. Extensive outdoor measurements were conducted in Marburg (latitude 50.8 degrees N) proving the operational stability of the different heat pipe systems even on days with rapidly varying irradiance. On clear days the shortest heat-up times from 40 to 99.5 degreesC for 5 kg water were 36, 32 and 17 min corresponding to an average thermal power of 580. 653 and 1220 W for the three systems, respectively.