variants
or sous chef
plural sous-chefs or sous chefs
: the top assistant in a professional kitchen
The typical restaurant kitchen is set up so the absence of the head chef is not felt in the dining room. It is the assistant, the sous-chef, who is usually in charge of production, with the head chef the administrator and creative force.—
Florence Fabricant
Florence FabricantThe relationship between chef and sous-chef can be a particularly intimate one, for instance, and it's nice to have someone with a similar background and world-view when you're going to spend almost every waking hour together.—Anthony Bourdain
Anthony BourdainExamples of sous-chef in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Next to me line cooks, sous-chefs, and other assorted restaurant workers clad in athleisure are limbering up in the middle of a narrow street in downtown Manhattan, the skyscrapers casting us into shadow in the sunny weather.
—Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Aug. 2025
At the top of the food chain are the chef de cuisine and sous-chef, followed by the chefs de partie, who are responsible for specific stations (sauces, seafood, cold dishes and so on), junior cooks or commis and trainees.
—Vivian Song, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2025
For weeks, chef Adam, formerly of Ever, has been chasing the Bear’s sous-chef, trying to persuade her to join him at his new restaurant.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 July 2025
Grenier, 48, played Nate Cooper, the bumbling college boyfriend turned Boston sous-chef to Runway magazine assistant Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway).
—Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 1 July 2025
Syd was able to help shape Tina, a former bookkeeper with no culinary skills beyond mixing beef, into a world-class sous-chef.
—Marah Eakin, Vulture, 26 June 2025
The chefs then go to meet Tom, Kristen, and their sous-chefs.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 13 June 2025
Her sous-chef, Fida, outfitted in black, has prepped a huge pile of onions in a neat julienned stack for bistec encebollado con mandioca – a dish of seasoned beef with sautéed onions served with yuca.
—Kendra Nordin Beato, Christian Science Monitor, 26 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, chef Aisha Ibrahim and her wife, sous-chef Samantha Beaird, are departing with plans of opening their own spot in a bigger market.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 5 Feb. 2025
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Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Aug. 2025
At the top of the food chain are the chef de cuisine and sous-chef, followed by the chefs de partie, who are responsible for specific stations (sauces, seafood, cold dishes and so on), junior cooks or commis and trainees.
—Vivian Song, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2025
For weeks, chef Adam, formerly of Ever, has been chasing the Bear’s sous-chef, trying to persuade her to join him at his new restaurant.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 July 2025
Grenier, 48, played Nate Cooper, the bumbling college boyfriend turned Boston sous-chef to Runway magazine assistant Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway).
—Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 1 July 2025
Syd was able to help shape Tina, a former bookkeeper with no culinary skills beyond mixing beef, into a world-class sous-chef.
—Marah Eakin, Vulture, 26 June 2025
The chefs then go to meet Tom, Kristen, and their sous-chefs.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 13 June 2025
Her sous-chef, Fida, outfitted in black, has prepped a huge pile of onions in a neat julienned stack for bistec encebollado con mandioca – a dish of seasoned beef with sautéed onions served with yuca.
—Kendra Nordin Beato, Christian Science Monitor, 26 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, chef Aisha Ibrahim and her wife, sous-chef Samantha Beaird, are departing with plans of opening their own spot in a bigger market.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 5 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sous-chef.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sous-chef. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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