chef

American  

[shef] / ʃɛf /

noun

• chefs
  plural

1. the chief cook, especially in a restaurant or hotel, usually responsible for planning menus, ordering foodstuffs, overseeing food preparation, and supervising the kitchen staff.

2. any cook.

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chef British  

/ ʃɛf /

noun

1. a cook, esp the principal cook in a restaurant

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chefs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of chef

From French, dating back to 1835–45; see origin at chief

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Explanation

Someone whose job is cooking food and planning menus at a restaurant is a chef. Many chefs graduate from cooking school, while others learn cooking techniques by observing and working with experienced chefs.. The word chef often specifies someone who cooks fancy or expensive food — in contrast, you might call a man who fries burgers at a fast food place or a woman who makes grilled cheese sandwiches at a diner simply cooks. The chef is generally at the top of the food chain in a restaurant kitchen, the boss of the other workers. Chef is French, short for chef de cuisine, or "head of the kitchen."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chef chefs

If I can’t go to Da Prato or if I need a more “special occasion” place, I’d do Jacaranda, which was started by chef Daniel Patterson and his wife, Sarah Lewitinn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Also on its front page, television chef Dipna Anand shares that she had 13 miscarriages.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

At Maçakizi Restaurant, the one-Michelin-star restaurant at the Maçakizi Hotel, chef Aret Sahakyan serves a range of farm-to-table fare inspired by different Mediterranean regions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

This professional chef used to cook for private events, and specialised in smoked meats.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Masten picked up a can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli and pointed at the picture of the chef on the label of the can.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Michelin stars were introduced in 1926 and have since become a major distinction for chefs and restaurants around the world.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The company has since led trips across six continents with a crew of around 60 captains and chefs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

A young Japanese man trained these amazing Mexican guys to be incredible sushi chefs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

"A lot of chefs are being very quiet about this, and I understand that because they're sort of scared of the protesters," he said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

We’d aligned ourselves with different foundations and food suppliers to install six thousand salad bars in school cafeterias and were recruiting local chefs to help schools serve meals that were not just healthy but tasty.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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