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Home > Mumbai Guide News > Things To Do News > Article > We quizzed city chefs to test their knowledge on newly introduced kitchen lingo

We quizzed city chefs to test their knowledge on newly introduced kitchen lingo

Updated on: 30 October,2023 08:02 AM IST  |  Mumbai
Tanishka D’Lyma | mailbag@mid-day.com

With a list of food and chef-related words from the 690 that were recently added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, we quiz city chefs to test their knowledge of kitchen lingo in an exciting face-off

We quizzed city chefs to test their knowledge on newly introduced kitchen lingo

File photo

Chef Parvana Mistry, director of operations, Parsi Dairy Farm


Chef Parvana Mistry, director of operations, Parsi Dairy Farm  £Bussin’ I CAN imagine my children saying this word; I guess having young kids helps to keep up with slang terms. I know they use it to describe something that has got them excited or that’s good, cool or happening.  £Jollof rice It’s an African rice-based dish but [to a Mumbaikar’s ear] it sounds like a fun combination of jelly and rice, don’t you think?  £Emping I’m not sure but is it used to describe a crackling texture?  £Cheffy It’s a nice way of calling a chef.  £My dictionary addition  Kulfi popsicle - A large pick-and-go popsicle in all kulfi flavours with Indian mithai toppings at Parsi Dairy Farm.  Score 3/4  Chef Moshe Shek, culinary entrepreneur and founder, Knead by Moshe Shek £Cheffy To make something very fancy like a chef. An added touch on a simple dish perhaps.  £Zhuzh Zhuzh? Sounds like a [fancy or funny] pronunciation of juice! Haha!  £Stagiaire Someone who is training in the kitchen.  Score 2/3  Chef Rahul Shrivastava, executive chef, Sesame - Hyatt Centric Juhu  £Smashburger The name describes it; it’s when you smash the patty of a burger. Think of aloo tuk; what is it? You take aloo and smash it to make a patty. There you go, smashburger!  £Zhuzh Oh, what is this? Is this related to making something better, making something in chef-style?   £Cheffy It’s the chef way of doing something, it’s chef-style. During the pandemic, everyone was ‘cheffy’, where they made [plated] dishes and took photos of them. We’ve also used this term for the last 15 years. It’s a polite way to call the chef. For instance, the F&B manager calls the chef with love — ‘cheffy, can you please do this’ or ‘cheffy, the guest has a request’.  £Emping It’s like a papad, it’s a SouthEast Asian chip-like item.  £My dictionary addition Okay, chef - This phrase is an emotion. It means ‘I hear you, whatever is said will be done’. There are variants across fields like ‘yes, captain’.  Score 4/4  Chef Akash Deshpande, chef de cuisine, Nava  £Stagiaire A person who interns in the kitchen for free for a few months instead of going to culinary school.  £Jollof rice No clue! I’m assuming it’s a dish of flavoured rice.  £Smashburger I know this, it’s when you press down or smash the patty of a burger.  £Bussin’ Is it related to a busboy?  £My dictionary addition Bhasad - I’m pretty sure every chef uses this term. It refers to the time when the kitchen is extremely chaotic or busy.  Score 3/4  CORRECT ANSWERS  Emping:  A slightly bitter cracker or chip popular in Indonesia that is made from the dried flattened seed of the melinjo tree  Stagiaire: An unpaid intern working in a professional kitchen as part of their training to become a chef  Smashburger:  A hamburger patty that is pressed thin onto a heated pan or griddle at the start of cooking  Zhuzh: A small improvement, adjustment, or addition that completes the overall look, taste, etc. of something  Bussin’: Extremely good, excellent  Jollof rice: A West African dish of rice cooked in a sauce of tomatoes and onions seasoned usually with garlic, thyme, hot pepper, and other spices and often accompanied by meat, fish, or vegetables  Cheffy: Characteristic of or befitting a professional chef (as in showiness, complexity, or exoticness)


. Bussin’
I CAN imagine my children saying this word; I guess having young kids helps to keep up with slang terms. I know they use it to describe something that has got them excited or that’s good, cool or happening.


. Jollof rice
It’s an African rice-based dish but [to a Mumbaikar’s ear] it sounds like a fun combination of jelly and rice, don’t you think?

. Emping
I’m not sure but is it used to describe a crackling texture?

. Cheffy
It’s a nice way of calling a chef.

. My dictionary addition 
Kulfi popsicle - A large pick-and-go popsicle in all kulfi flavours with Indian mithai toppings at Parsi Dairy Farm.

Score
3/4

Chef Moshe Shek, culinary entrepreneur and founder, Knead by Moshe Shek

Chef Moshe Shek, culinary entrepreneur and founder, Knead by Moshe Shek

. Cheffy
To make something very fancy like a chef. An added touch on a simple dish perhaps.

. Zhuzh
Zhuzh? Sounds like a [fancy or funny] pronunciation of juice! Haha!

. Stagiaire
Someone who is training in the kitchen.

Score
2/3

Chef Rahul Shrivastava, executive chef, Sesame - Hyatt Centric Juhu

Chef Rahul Shrivastava, executive chef, Sesame - Hyatt Centric Juhu

. Smashburger
The name describes it; it’s when you smash the patty of a burger. Think of aloo tuk; what is it? You take aloo and smash it to make a patty. There you go, smashburger!

. Zhuzh
Oh, what is this? Is this related to making something better, making something in chef-style? 

. Cheffy
It’s the chef way of doing something, it’s chef-style. During the pandemic, everyone was ‘cheffy’, where they made [plated] dishes and took photos of them. We’ve also used this term for the last 15 years. It’s a polite way to call the chef. For instance, the F&B manager calls the chef with love — ‘cheffy, can you please do this’ or ‘cheffy, the guest has a request’.

. Emping
It’s like a papad, it’s a SouthEast Asian chip-like item.

. My dictionary addition
Okay, chef - This phrase is an emotion. It means ‘I hear you, whatever is said will be done’. There are variants across fields like ‘yes, captain’.

Score
4/4

Chef Akash Deshpande, chef de cuisine, Nava

Chef Akash Deshpande, chef de cuisine, Nava

. Stagiaire
A person who interns in the kitchen for free for a few months instead of going to culinary school.

. Jollof rice
No clue! I’m assuming it’s a dish of flavoured rice.

. Smashburger
I know this, it’s when you press down or smash the patty of a burger.

. Bussin’
Is it related to a busboy?

. My dictionary addition
Bhasad - I’m pretty sure every chef uses this term. It refers to the time when the kitchen is extremely chaotic or busy.

Score
3/4

Correct Answers

Emping:  A slightly bitter cracker or chip popular in Indonesia that is made from the dried flattened seed of the melinjo tree

Stagiaire: An unpaid intern working in a professional kitchen as part of their training to become a chef

Smashburger:  A hamburger patty that is pressed thin onto a heated pan or griddle at the start of cooking

Zhuzh: A small improvement, adjustment, or addition that completes the overall look, taste, etc. of something

Bussin’: Extremely good, excellent

Jollof rice: A West African dish of rice cooked in a sauce of tomatoes and onions seasoned usually with garlic, thyme, hot pepper, and other spices and often accompanied by meat, fish, or vegetables

Cheffy: Characteristic of or befitting a professional chef (as in showiness, complexity, or exoticness)

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