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

Etymology

Origin of chef

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

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

I want a robot that can work as an executive chef in my own kitchen.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026

He was taught by his father who worked as a chef in "high-end" restaurants so he "grew up in a kitchen".

From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026

“Food poked over a live wood or charcoal fire invariably tastes good,” said chef Christopher Kostow, co-owner of the Charter Oak, a restaurant in St. Helena, Calif.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026

The next morning, while the former chef was still in Palm Springs, the filing states that she awoke experiencing severe hemorrhaging and drove herself to the emergency room.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026

By then the chef had exposed me to the exciting flavors and sauces of French cuisine, and I’d developed a taste for them.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson