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

See Examples For:

chef chefs

In 2023, Nigerian chef Hilda Baci cooked continuously for 93 hours and 11 minutes in Lagos, which Guinness officially recognised as a new record.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

That also means confronting one of the industry’s most persistent assumptions: that a successful chef must sacrifice everything else to the job.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

For Australian chef Sarah Glover, it has meant embracing femininity while building a career around one of cooking’s most visually aggressive elements: fire.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

Her floral, flowing clothes and romantic aesthetic are not things she feels compelled to shed in order to be taken seriously as a chef.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

“It is a woman,” said the chef de train, speaking for the first time.

From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie

L.A.’s most anticipated culinary event brings 40+ award-winning restaurants, celebrity chefs, and unlimited tastings to The Barker Hangar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

But the small city, which won the festival over other bids, is also home to a community of chefs, artists and entrepreneurs that has long given Boulder a creative energy that complements its natural beauty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

A record-breaking El Nino will likely force the world's top chefs to rethink their menus ahead of droughts, floods and heatwaves upending global food systems.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

Warrant Officer Lee Hargreaves, who commands the flight, said the training was mandatory for all personnel, "from pilots through to chefs, HR specialists through to musicians".

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

These chefs, along with the buying clubs and the farmers markets, are all part of a worldwide movement.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan