# chef

/ˈʃɛf/ (US) · /ʃˈɛf/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/chef
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. professional head cook

noun · CEFR A2

a professional cook who is in charge of a kitchen in a restaurant or hotel.

For teachers: the head cook of a restaurant or other commercial establishment, typically responsible for menu design and staff management.

- The chef came out of the kitchen to ask if we liked our meal.
- After years of training in Paris, she was finally appointed as the executive chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant in London.

### 2. any cook

noun · CEFR B1 · Informal

a person who cooks food, often used as a compliment for someone who is good at it.

For teachers: a person who prepares food, often used loosely or honorifically for a skilled amateur cook.

- My dad is the main chef in our house on Sunday mornings.
- Even though he had no formal training, his friends considered him a master chef because of his complex spice blends.

### 3. drug manufacturer

noun · CEFR C1 · Slang

someone who makes illegal drugs.

For teachers: a person involved in the illicit manufacture of chemical drugs.

- The police arrested the chef who was running the secret lab.
- Underworld informants identified the local chef responsible for the recent surge in high-purity synthetic stimulants.

### 4. to work as a chef

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

to work as a professional cook.

For teachers: to perform the duties of a professional chef; often used in the progressive form to describe a career path.

- He has been cheffing at that Italian place for three years now.
- She spent her twenties cheffing across Europe before returning home to open her own bistro.

### 5. to stab

verb · CEFR C2 · Slang · Dialect

to attack someone with a knife.

For teachers: to wound or kill someone by stabbing with a blade.

- The lyrics of the song mentioned people getting cheffed in the street.
- The witness claimed to have seen the suspect attempt to chef the victim during the altercation outside the club.

Usage: Common in Multicultural London English (MLE).

Teaching tip: This sense is highly specific to UK urban slang and should be avoided in general or formal contexts.

## Examples

- The chef prepares a special menu every Friday.
- After years of training in Paris, she returned home to work as the head chef at a famous seafood restaurant.
- The executive chef oversees not only the menu design and food preparation but also the inventory management and the coordination of the entire kitchen staff.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.