people who make and serve food

chef [chef chefs] [ʃef] [ʃef] noun
a professional cook, especially the most senior cook in a restaurant, hotel, etc.
Word Origin:
early 19th cent.: French, literally head.
Example Bank:
• He took a job as a sous chef in a London hotel.

• a new book by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

chef

chef /ʃef/
noun [C]
a skilled and trained cook who works in a hotel or restaurant, especially the most important cook:
He is one of the top chefs in Britain.
She is head-chef at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

chef

/ʃef/
(chefs)

A chef is a cook in a restaurant or hotel.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

chef

chef /ˈʃɛf/ noun, pl chefs [count]
1 : a professional cook who usually is in charge of a kitchen in a restaurant
• The hotel's chef trained at the finest culinary institutes in Europe.
• He's the head chef at a five-star restaurant.
• a celebrity chef with her own TV show
2 : a person who prepares food for people to eat : cook
• My friend is an excellent chef.