A lighting assembly for a cooking apparatus including a handle, an arm and a light source. The arm is movably joined with the handle so that the arm is selectively movable from a position in which it is concealed at least partially in the handle to another position where the arm projects out from the handle and over a cooking surface when a cover of the cooking apparatus is in an open position. By adjusting the position of the arm, the light source can be aimed at the surface to monitor the cooking of food in low light conditions. In one embodiment, the lighting assembly includes a head, with which the light source is joined, that is movably mounted to the arm to provide an added degree of adjustment for aiming the light source at the cooking surface, and/or a work surface when included.