chef de cuisine

noun

chef de cui·​sine ˌshef-də-kwē-ˈzēn 

plural chefs de cuisine ˌshef(s)-də-kwē-ˈzēn 

: a chef who manages a professional kitchen

… chefs need chefs de cuisine to run their kitchens, from hiring and firing to choosing between chives and chervil as the garnish for a new dish. And some do a great deal more than that.

—Julia Moskin

And the titles change with each restaurant. The top chef might be called an executive chef or chef de cuisine. The second in command might also be known as chef de cuisine (if there's an executive chef) …

—Phil Vettel

Tony Bilson, who has had a succession of artistically successful but financially rocky restaurants in Sydney, has his name on the door, but Manu Feildel, the young chef de cuisine from France, does the day-to-day cooking, and he is good.

—Harvey Steiman

compare executive chef

Examples of chef de cuisine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Running the kitchen will be chef de cuisine Lania Andrade, who most recently worked as the pastry chef at Shingo. —Connie Ogle may 30, Miami Herald, 30 May 2026

Momosé is supported by chef de cuisine Andrew Mainor and a team trained to notice every detail, from the temperature of a water carafe to the way a guest is greeted at the door. —Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026

Emilia—led by Greg Vernick, the James Beard Award–winning chef behind Vernick Food & Drink and Vernick Fish at the Four Seasons—is a trattoria-spirited Italian spot where chef de cuisine Meri Medoway oversees a menu of handmade, seasonal pastas. —Regan Stephens, Bon Appetit Magazine, 26 May 2026

Lee connected with founder Kihyun Lee while working as chef de cuisine at Atomix, which led to a conversation about opening a restaurant of his own. —Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 7 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, "head of the kitchen"

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for chef de cuisine

• acetylene
• adamantine
• adenosine
• amphetamine
• anthropocene
• apoprotein
• aquamarine
• arsphenamine
• azobenzene
• buprenorphine
• catecholamine
• chlorobenzene