Professional cooks who prepare food in restaurants or kitchens, usually skilled at creating delicious meals.
From French 'chef' meaning chief or leader, from Latin 'caput' meaning head. A chef is literally the head of the kitchen, the boss of cooking.
Chef comes from the same Latin word as 'captain' and 'capital'—they're all about being the head of something, so a chef is the head cook, a captain is the head of a ship, and a capital is the head city.
Professional kitchens historically male-dominated; 'chef' carries prestige while domestic 'cook' (often female labor) is devalued. Fine dining authority coded masculine.
Use 'chef' for all professional cooks regardless of gender; acknowledge women chefs' historical exclusion from haute cuisine spaces.
Women revolutionized cooking globally; recognize chefs like Marcela Valladolid, Ina Garten, Alice Waters alongside male peers.
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