Who Is Your Favorite Fictional Chef?

In the age of the celebrity chef, we're all exposed to more culinary masterminds than ever, and after a while it's hard not to pick favorites. Maybe Julia Child was your culinary muse, or perhaps you simply enjoy watching Gordon Ramsay yell at underlings in the kitchen. But some of the very best chefs don't even exist in our reality, instead residing in their own fictional kitchens in formative TV shows, movies, musicals, and more. We may not be able to taste their food, but we know without a doubt that it is delicious. These are our favorite fictional chefs.

A resourceful, savvy businesswoman and, dare I say, skilled chef, Mrs. Lovett managed to lift a dying business and turn it around into a profitable one all while covering up multiple murders. Sure, she literally fed people human flesh, but she must have seasoned those bad boys up pretty well. She went from serving the "worst pies in London" to filling up the shop with tables of eager paying customers. That woman worked hard, too; grinding up bones takes the kind of muscles you can't grow at the gym. Her strength allowed her to sling meat pies while trying to keep the insane barber upstairs from recklessly taking down the whole operation. Can't say I'd actually want to eat her bug-infested cannibal pies, but I'll admit the dough for the pies looked pretty appetizing, at least. —Angela L. Pagán, staff writer 

Michelangelo is the most well-rounded of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He skates, he wields nunchaku, but he also knows his way around the kitchen. Have you ever seen a muscular animated turtle use a cutting board? I have, and it's glorious. Michelangelo's cooking skills have been the subject of fan fiction, brotherly conflict (courtesy of his brothers' unsophisticated palates), and even The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizza Cookbook, released in 2017. I'll say it: more amphibians should pursue the culinary arts. —Lillian Stone, staff writer

You know the old saying, behind every great chef is a charming and hilarious cartoon family. At least that's the case with the titular cook of Bob's Burgers, who has not only proven himself to be a worthy grill master but a loving father and quite the wordsmith—those burger-of-the-day puns don't write themselves, and we're still getting fresh wordplay 12 seasons in. It's important to note that Bob is not simply a line cook, not just a constructor of burgers. Throughout the series it's clear that he is a capital-C Chef with spot-on instincts for luxurious ingredients, an appreciation for high-end kitchenware, and a deep passion for creating the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. The food he creates may be animated, but I would still take a bite out of it any day. —Brianna Wellen, associate editor

Den Svenske Kocken ist ze flicke støøbin mit der burdy chef yubetchå. Veer de furst chef er ifer sev øn ze TV, su I hefe-å nu chuice but tu beleevee zeet he-a der cøze fur me børk in de kitchen. He døøse eet buest, und døznøt geefes øpp. Den Svenske Kocken prubebly nø dee guod cheff, buøt yubetcha hee put zee børk is børk-børk. Ven de pøt ixpludee, de løbsters go de bang bang wit de pistøl, und de vegtiåbles go hurly gurt vit de bud vørds, he-a gets frum fegetebles. Ve måe neber nø hees veel nåm, bud ve nø hez är verkligen kökets kung der børk-børk. -Ållisøn Røbicelli