executive chef

noun

plural executive chefs

: the head chef of a professional kitchen or of a group of professional kitchens

the restaurant's executive chef and owner

His résumé was filled with Connecticut restaurants …; at Le Coq Hardi Restaurant in Stamford, he was, variously, … first cook, sous chef, and finally executive chef.

—Michael Ruhlman

Bala Kumanan, a French-trained chef, oversees the quality of the food … as the executive chef of the high-end restaurants that span from Vancouver to Ottawa.

—John French

compare chef de cuisine

Examples of executive chef in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There he was promoted to executive chef in 2012 and three years later won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southeast. —Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 9 Mar. 2026

But there are no main courses, executive chef Cristian Mosquera says. —Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2026

Chef Forrest Parker, who once served as the restaurant's executive chef, helped establish the overall tone of Revival and sought to create a menu that playfully reinterpreted some of Charleston’s most iconic dishes. —Madeline Weinfield, Travel + Leisure, 5 Mar. 2026

The co-founders of Grassfed Culture Hospitality (from left), creative director Pili Restrepo, executive chef Sebastián Vargas and CEO Josh Hackler, will bring their first Italian concept to Atlanta. —Henri Hollis, AJC.com, 3 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for executive chef

• clef
• deaf
• ref