chef's kiss

American  

[shefs kis] / ˈʃɛfs ˈkɪs /

noun

plural

chef's kisses

1. a gesture used to suggest that something is perfect or exceptionally good, consisting of pinching the fingers and thumb of one hand together, kissing the tips of the pinched fingers, and then moving the hand outward while splaying the fingers.

2. something that is perfect, exceptional, or exquisite.

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adjective

1. excellent, perfect, or exquisite.

interjection

1. (used to suggest that something is perfect or exquisite.)

Example Sentences

The nearly 70-year-old Aroon Rai restaurant, since blessed with a chef’s kiss from the late Anthony Bourdain, occupies the same open-air patio.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Asked to describe the basketball facilities in those places, Shaq gave a chef’s kiss.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2023

Other new words entering the nearly 200-year-old publisher’s lexicon are food-related such as chef’s kiss — a gesture known to anyone who has cooked or tasted a culinary masterpiece for which there are no words.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 27, 2023

The new frozen cups recipe was with half Kool-Aid and half snowball syrup –– and she even added one marshmallow that always floated to the top as a chef’s kiss.

From Salon • Jul. 1, 2023

But I suppose none of this should surprise us, as the chef’s kiss of this entire charade is the reality that parents, too, are desensitized.

From Washington Times • Feb. 15, 2023