Chef’s kiss in Italian is “al bacio”. It means “as good as a kiss”.
Chefs and Cooks use this gesture to express satisfaction over a dish.
If you want to know where and when this expression began and how it has evolved from kitchen lingo to a phrase used in everyday conversations, read this article.
What Does the Chef’s Kiss Gesture Look Like?
The Chef’s kiss gesture involves using your thumb and index finger to make an “OK” sign while puckering your lips.
An alternative is kissing the tips of all your fingers and then moving them away from your face while spreading them apart.
The History of the Chef’s Kiss
Its origin can be traced back to the post-World War II era when Italians were stereotypically portrayed as men with heavy mustaches.
This imagery became the standard in promoting Italian packaged products to appeal to the growing Italian-American population in the United States.
With more than 600,000 Italians having immigrated to the United States after World War II, companies wanted to cater to the population’s preference for different types of food.
One company that embraced this norm is Kraft Foods, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of confectioneries, food and beverages.
They added an Italian-looking Chef with a majestic mustache wearing a tall white hat to the packaging of their grated Parmesan cheese products to signify authentic Italian food. Their global marketing promotions, including print ads, also featured a Chef with a mustache, reinforcing the idea across the world that this image was equivalent to an excellent product.
Another establishment that used this imagery is Chef Boyardee, a brand of canned food products.
Chef Boyardee was founded by Ettore Boiardi, an Italian-American Chef — who, you guessed it, has a thick mustache. He featured his face on the packaging of his pasta meals and changed the spelling of his surname to make it easier for people to enunciate.
Boiardi was popular both for his brand and his significant contribution during World War II, working as a supplier of food for American soldiers.
The role of The Muppets Show
It wasn’t until Hot Wheels released The Muppets Show series featuring the Swedish Chef doing the Chef’s kiss pose that the gesture became widely famous.
The Muppets Show is a famous American comedy TV show that introduced the Swedish Chef as a humorous take on cooking shows.
Fast forward to today, Chef’s kiss remains a relevant term to describe something as perfect as can be. It has made its way into mobile messaging in the form of emojis and sticker packs.
In 2018, a designer named Jen Lewis created an emoji of Guy Fieri, a famous American Chef and TV show host, doing the Chef’s kiss gesture.
[Source: Food & Wine / Jen Lewis]
From a stereotype, the Chef’s kiss has evolved to symbolize a mark of excellence or perfection.
Other Popular Chef Gestures and Phrases
Aside from Chef’s kiss, here are other famous phrases and gestures used by Chefs you might’ve previously heard.
Voila
Voila is a French interjection used to suggest the appearance or presentation of something. It’s used by Chefs, Servers or Waiters to present a well-styled food to their customers.
This gesture is often done with one hand extended, moving upward or downward to showcase the dish.
Mise en Place
Mise en place is another French term used in the kitchen. It translates to “put in place”.
Mise en place is an organizational system Chefs use to ensure efficiency.
This involves organizing the tools that will be used in preparing a dish, such as kitchen knives, mixing bowls and measuring spoons.
Practicing mise en place is the basic foundation of being a Michelin-star Chef because it allows you to focus on quality.
All Day
All Day is a term Chefs use to indicate the total number of orders for a dish.
Using this is helpful in letting the kitchen staff know if they have enough ingredients to make the dish.
For example, a Chef might say “seven shrimp scampis all day,” meaning seven orders of shrimp scampis need to be prepared simultaneously.
