A Sous Chef Is Literally the Under Chef
Sous means under in French. In English it appears in kitchen and cooking terms.
Sous is the French word for under, used in English chiefly in kitchen vocabulary. A *sous chef* is the under-chef, second to the head of the kitchen, and *sous vide* means under vacuum — food sealed in a bag and cooked slowly in precisely controlled water. The two are unrelated except by the preposition. French kitchen French runs deep in English: *chef* means chief, *entrée* means entry, *hors d'oeuvre* means outside the work, and *à la carte* means from the card.
- Under (French). *Sous chef.*
- Sous vide. *Cooked sous vide.*
- Second-in-command. *The sous.*
- Chef — the chief. *A chef.*
- Latin — *subtus*, below. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Preposition | sous | Sous chef. |
| Compound | sous chef | A sous chef. |
| Compound | sous vide | Sous vide. |
| Related | chef | A chef. |
| Latin | subtus | Below. |
- The sous chef ran the line.Kitchen.
- Cooked sous vide.Method.
- Sous means under.French.
Kitchen French in English
- Chef — literally the chief
- Entrée — an entry, the dish that begins a meal
- Hors d'oeuvre — outside the work, apart from the main dishes
- Mise en place — putting in place, the prep before service
- À la carte — from the card, chosen individually
French *sous*, under, from Latin *subtus*, below.
What does sous vide mean?
Under vacuum. Food is sealed in a bag and cooked in precisely controlled warm water.
What does chef literally mean?
Chief. A chef de cuisine is the chief of the kitchen, and a sous chef is second to them.