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chef - What does it mean?

Definition of 'chef'

English

Noun

(en-noun)
  • The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household
  • *<1845 , R. H. Barham, Blasphemer's Warning'' in ''Ingoldsby Legends (1847), 3rd Ser., 245
  • *:The Chef' s peace of mind was restor'd, And in due time a banquet was placed on the board.
  • The head cook of a restaurant or other establishment
  • *1849 , Thackeray, Pendennis (1850), I. xxviii. 266
  • *:The angry little chef of Sir Francis Clavering's culinary establishment.
  • Any cook
  • *Kiss the chef

    • Usage notes

    When used in reference to a cook with no sous-chefs or other workers beneath him, the term is connotes a certain degree of prestige—whether culinary education or ability—distinguishing the chef from a “cook”. As a borrowing, chef was originally italicized, but such treatment is now obsolete.

    Synonyms

    * (head cook) cook

    References

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    Similar to 'chef'

    chief, cauf, caff, chuff, cuff, chaff, coif, coof, ccf, caf, choof, chiff