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"Chef's the best in Starfleet."

"Chef" was the head cook aboard the Enterprise NX-01. Captain Jonathan Archer had to call in a number of favors just to get Chef onto Enterprise. (ENT: "Fortunate Son")

In the series bible for Star Trek: Enterprise, Chef's role on the starship Enterprise was outlined as heading "the ship's galley crew." It was also stated, "Chef [...] was hand-picked by Captain Archer." Moreover, in the revised final draft script of ENT: "Broken Bow" (but not in the second draft of that script), an unused line of dialogue had the captain comment to Commander Charles Tucker III, "My number one staffing priority was finding the right chef. I think you'll be impressed." Moments later, Archer explained that the reason the search had been so important to him was that he believed "A starship runs on its stomach." [1] In the writers' second draft script of "Breaking the Ice", Archer even professed to "love" Chef.

In 2151, Chef made a pecan pie, which delighted Commander Tucker. According to Captain Archer, Chef was able to make anything from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to turkey with all the trimmings. Later, Sub-commander T'Pol was asked to suggest a Vulcan dish for dinner with Captain Vanik as a menu suggestion. When she decided on pok tar, Vanik decided not to eat anything. Archer then offered him that Chef could prepare something else for him but Vanik refused. (ENT: "Breaking the Ice")

Later that year, after a group of Ferengi pirates commandeered Enterprise, Krem, upon trying a sandwich that Chef had made earlier, was impressed, and suggested that they take the ship's cook with them. (ENT: "Acquisition")

Ensign Hoshi Sato mentioned that Chef would be a better choice than herself to get information from Lieutenant Malcolm Reed about his favorite food, but Captain Archer decided that Sato was the better choice and made it her top priority. Complying with this, Sato asked Reed if he thought the meals in the mess hall could use a more "personal touch," but Reed responded by stating Chef was a fine cook – a sentiment Sato shared. (ENT: "Silent Enemy")

Chef became accustomed to making many Vulcan dishes, such as the pok tar; Enterprise science officer T'Pol stated that, during the latter part of 2151, he had become quite good at making Vulcan food. (ENT: "Breaking the Ice", "Fusion")

Chef was known for his famous breakfast dish, eggs Benedict. (ENT: "Minefield")

In August 2152, Chef became ill, so Sato, who enjoyed spending time in the galley, offered to serve as his replacement until he recovered. (ENT: "Singularity")

While the ship's crew was forced to temporarily relocate to Enterprise's catwalk in September 2152, Chef continued to serve in his role as ship's cook. His meal of choice, at the time, was pot roast, a dish he served three times in three days, much to Lieutenant Reed's annoyance. Chef was serving pot roast for the third time while a trio of Takret, who were also temporarily living in the catwalk, were dangerously barbecuing a meal for themselves. Moments after Commander Tucker prevented them from continuing to cook the meal, he suggested he would ask Chef if he (Chef) could heat it for them. (ENT: "The Catwalk")

In late 2153, Chef mentioned to Commander Tucker at dinner that he was worried about the crew as they were sipping meals due to them being either too busy or the stress of the Xindi mission was starting to get to them. Tucker would bring this to Captain Archer's attention afterwards. (ENT: "Impulse")

In February 2154, Chef was the only person to complain about how long it took damage to the ship's galley to be repaired after an attack at Azati Prime. (ENT: "Countdown")

In 2161, Chef told Captain Archer that he was planning a menu for the crew's last dinner together and wanted to know everybody's favorite dish as the Enterprise was due for decommissioning following the signing of the Federation charter. He also told Archer that he promised at least six different kinds of Cheese for Porthos. (ENT: "These Are the Voyages...")

Serving aboard a starship with no counselors or psychologists, Enterprise's crew members often found solace in Chef and often discussed their problems with him. For this reason, in 2370, Deanna Troi compared the chef's position to hers, and advised Commander William T. Riker to assume the role of Chef while observing an historic holoprogram detailing Enterprise's last mission, to better interact with the crew. (ENT: "These Are the Voyages...")

Background information[]

Chef was never given a name beyond his title. He was almost never seen and was never heard. The only exception was in the episode "The Catwalk", in which Chef was played by regular background actor and stand-in Richard Sarstedt in an uncredited appearance.

Food Stylist Dorothy Duder was the actual Chef, responsible for preparation of on-camera food for all seasons of Enterprise. In addition to standard crew mess fare, she created Tripp's Pecan Pie, Hoshi's Oden, Reed's favorite Prime Rib with Horseradish, Eggs Benedict and Catwalk Pot Roast. Married to Academy Award winning Trek artist Doug Drexler, she was accustomed to feeding the Trek Art Department long before her tenure as Food Stylist.

In the writers' second draft script of "Breaking the Ice", Chef was referred to as having invented a meatball sandwich called a "Comet Special", in reference to the fact that Enterprise was meanwhile studying a rogue comet.

In "The Catwalk", Chef appears in only one shot, which was purposely cropped. The episode's final draft script described the character thus; "He's dressed in a white Chef's uniform. His face and torso will remain off-camera."

The fact that Richard Sarstedt played Chef in "The Catwalk" is from the episode's call sheet, where he was credited as Richard "Isaac Hayes" Sarstedt, a reference to singer Isaac Hayes, who portrayed the character "Chef" on South Park for nine seasons. Sarstedt was one of the regular stand-ins for Jonathan Frakes, who portrayed Riker as Chef in a hologram which features in ENT series finale "These Are the Voyages...".

In a potential story pitched by Michael Sussman, Chef, played by William Shatner, would have been brought by Daniels into the 23rd century, preserving the timeline by impersonating a legendary descendant during an important historical event. [2](X)

External link[]

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