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

Last summer, the pair launched King BBQ as a roving pop-up with their chef de cuisine, Brandon Olson. —Kate Kassin, Bon Appétit, 7 Sep. 2023

Yes, chef Brandon Carter and his chef de cuisine Joseph Harrison often serve dishes made with produce from nearby farms, and the menu is globally influenced but grounded in Southern flavors (like Carolina Gold rice porridge with barbecued mushrooms, crispy potato, and pickled daikon radish). —Chelsea Brasted, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2023

Why is Sydney, the chef de cuisine, running the expo station? —Lisa Rosen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2023

Quarry House Tavern gets name-checked at happy hour, when Charley Prime Foods serves the dive’s hamburger, and Little Coco’s, whose former chef de cuisine, Russell Pike, plays that role here, is acknowledged with fontina-and-chive fritters along with a handful of housemade pastas. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 7 July 2023

The American chef de cuisine, Balo Ortiz, slid plate after plate — hot-and-sour tortellini, chipotle partridge ravioli — in my direction. —Matt Goulding, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2023

Dylan Patel The chef de cuisine at Avec, a 20-year mainstay in the Chicago culinary scene for its midwestern take on Mediterranean dining, appears in episode 3 as part of Sydney’s food tour. —Shannon Carlin, Time, 22 June 2023

The day-to-day cooking is executed with flair and consistency by chef de cuisine Nico Cezar. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 May 2023

Bautista served as chef de cuisine under George’s at the Cove’s Foshee from 2013 to 2019. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, "head of the kitchen"

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above