chef

[ shef ]

/ ʃɛf /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chef ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

any cook.

RELATED WORDS

cuisinier

Nearby words

Origin of chef

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

Can be confusedchef chief

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chef

In Japan, the master blender is the most important person in the production process and is as revered as a chef.
Watch Out, Scotland! Japanese Whisky Is on the Rise|Kayleigh Kulp|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I innocently wrote a letter home to my mother telling her how great the French chef was in the headquarters canteen.
I Saw Nuclear Armageddon Sitting on My Desk|Clive Irving|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chef Alex Armstrong prepared the meal for participants while Kaye schooled them in the art of reconstructing ex-rabbits.
Edible Taxidermy: It’s a Good Thing|Lizzie Crocker|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or you can mount a flayed rabbit to hang in your living room while a chef turns its innards into a nose-to-tail feast.
Edible Taxidermy: It’s a Good Thing|Lizzie Crocker|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Now chef Dominique Ansel has created a Pop Art-themed ice cream sundae on sale for one day only in East Hampton.
First Cronuts, Now Sundaes in a Can|Tim Teeman|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The chef's got some birds for us, and I've put a couple of bottles on ice.
The Exiles and Other Stories|Richard Harding Davis
His Chinese cook was hovering about, but Peter himself was chef.
Sisters|Kathleen Norris
He had, however, been witness to the very effusive welcome which the chef de rception gave me.
The Iron Ration|George Abel Schreiner
The copper vessels which they use are daily tinned—which fact I learnt from the Chef,—and shone like so much silver.
Soyer's Culinary Campaign|Alexis Soyer
Still, it had taken the chef and his kitchen-maids two hours to put everything right.
From Out the Vasty Deep|Mrs. Belloc Lowndes

British Dictionary definitions for chef

chef

/ (ʃɛf) /

noun

a cook, esp the principal cook in a restaurant

Word Origin for chef

C19: from French, from Old French chief head, chief

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chef

chef

"head cook," 1830, from French chef, short for chef de cuisine, literally "head of the kitchen," from Old French chief "leader, ruler, head" (see chief (n.)).

chef

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of chef

Examples from the Web for chef

chef

noun

Word Origin for chef

chef