chef

Definitions

chef is French for 'head' (from Latin caput), short for chef de cuisine, 'head of the kitchen.' English borrowed the bare word, so a chef is literally the kitchen's head — the same 'head' that gives us chief.

Why It Means This

Chef is the late-arriving twin of chief. Both come from French chef ('head'), but English took chief in the Middle Ages for any leader, then borrowed chef again around 1800 specifically for the head of a kitchen. So the word literally calls the cook a 'head' — which is why a sous-chef (French sous, 'under') is the 'under-head,' the second-in-command.

Common Collocations

• 1.head chef主厨
• 2.celebrity chef明星厨师
• 3.sous-chef副厨师长
• 4.executive chef行政总厨
• 5.pastry chef糕点师

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The chef prepared a five-course tasting menu for us.

• 2.

  She trained under a famous chef in Paris.

• 3.

  He dreams of becoming a celebrity chef one day.