List of Chef! characters

This is a list of characters that appeared on the BBC sitcom "Chef!", which aired from 1993 to 1996.

Major characters

Gareth Blackstock

*Played By: Lenny Henry
*Appears In: Series 1-3Gareth Blackstock is the chef de cuisine and sometime co-owner of Le Chateau Anglais, a restaurant in Oxfordshire, specializing in twists on traditional French cuisine. He has attained two Michelin stars. He buys Le Chateau Anglais in Series One, with his wife, Janice, and they own and manage the restaurant through the end of Series Two. Blackstock’s expertise is well known, and he finished first in an international cooking competition. His temper is also well known, and he can be exceptionally rude to his staff, customers, and family members.

Janice Blackstock

*Played By: Caroline Lee-Johnson
*Appears in: Series 1-3Janice Blackstock is Gareth’s wife; the two had been married for 8 years at the beginning of Series 1. She left a career in London to move to Oxfordshire with Gareth. When the couple purchase Le Chateau Anglais, she becomes the restaurant manager and attempts to impose restrictions on Gareth’s free-spending ways in the kitchen in order to turn a profit. She also spends much of the time thinking of new avenues of publicity. In Series 3, she and Gareth split temporarily, but are reunited when she is discovered to be pregnant.

Everton Stonehead

*Played By: Roger Griffiths
*Appears in: Series 1-3Everton Stonehead went to boarding school with Gareth growing up and dreams of becoming a top chef one day. He convinces Gareth to take him on as an assistant for no wages to learn the trade while Everton is supported by an aunt. Everton bumbles through his early days in the kitchen, but eventually becomes adept at cooking, helping Gareth with Caribbean cuisine and developing a signature dish of his own. By the end of the series, Everton has become a sort of confidant for Gareth. Everton nearly always ends his sentences with "sort of thing," often to comical effect.

Kitchen staff

Lucinda

*Played By: Claire Skinner
*Appears in: Series 1Lucinda is promoted to sous chef at the beginning of Series I, being the most talented and capable of Gareth’s kitchen staff. Despite her talent, it takes a budget cut to earn her promotion. She has Gareth’s respect and stands up to him more than any of the other staff will.

Gustav LaRoche

*Played By: Ian McNeice (Series II), Jeff Nuttall (Series III)
*Appears in: Series 2, 3Gustav LaRoche was a talented chef about ten years before the setting of the show; in Series 2, Gareth seeks him out to replace Lucinda as sous chef. He is found working in a small restaurant in an out-of-the-way town. It is later revealed that his alcoholism forced him to such a small kitchen where he did not cook with wine. The staff helps him to receive treatment for his alcoholism, but he does have relapses. Additionally, he mostly dislikes Savannah but on occasion teams up with her to achieve a goal, such as firing Reeny/Renee.

Piers

*Played By: Gary Parker
*Appears in: Series 1Piers is a kitchen laborer who often deals with the presentation of food. His penchant for smoking marijuana nearly gets Gareth into legal trouble while he is out searching for unpasteurized Stilton cheese.

Otto

*Played By: Erkan Mustafa
*Appears in: Series 1Otto is a kitchen staff worker. He doesn’t appear to be especially talented nor especially incompetent.

Crispin

*Played By: Tim Matthews
*Appears in: Series 2Crispin is a kitchen staff worker. Crispin is revealed to come from a wealthy background and has picked up some amorous habits from his father.

Donald

*Played By: Gary Bakewell
*Appears in: Series 2Donald is a kitchen staff worker. He has a poor relationship with his father.

Debra

*Played By: Pui Fan Lee
*Appears in: Series 2Debra is a kitchen staff worker. She also is a hopeless romantic who is especially susceptible to the smell of onions. Pui Fan Lee is most well known for playing Po on "Teletubbies".

Alice

*Played By: Hilary Lyon
*Appears in: Series 2Alice is a kitchen staff worker. She especially dislikes Gustav, seeming to resent Gareth’s decision to hire a sous chef from outside the restaurant instead of promoting her.

avannah Concord

*Played By: Lorelai King
*Appears in: Series 3Savannah is a kitchen staff worker. She is American, and frequently reminisces about her glamorous life at home. Savannah dislikes Gustav much the way Alice does. Savannah becomes involved in several complicated romantic situations: she loves Gareth, but spurns Cyril, the restaurant owner for part of the show's run.

Reneé Bryson

*Played By: Sophie Walker
*Appears in: Series 3Reneé is a kitchen staff worker and the daughter of Cyril, the owner of the restaurant. She does not have talent for cooking and the other staff largely resents her presence. Reneé is very sensitive about her name, and the rest of the staff mispronounces it to upset her frequently. She has a short-lived romance with Everton, but does not take their breakup nearly as hard as he does.

upport staff

Lola

*Played By: Elizabeth Bennett
*Appears in: Series 1Lola serves as the Maître d' of Le Chateau Anglais. She is especially fond of food and spends much effort attempting to sample all of Gareth’s dishes, noting that each is her “favorite.”

Alphonse

*Played By: Jean Luc Rebaliati
*Appears in: Series 2Alphonse is the new sommelier. Gareth appears to trust Alphonse and incorporates him in the occasional scheme to show Everton up. Alphonse also helps Gareth find satisfactory English wine to use in a cooking competition.

Cyril Bryson

*Played By: Dave Hill
*Appears in: Series 3Cyril buys Le Chateau Anglais from Gareth and Janice when it goes into financial trouble. He is enamored with Savannah, the American kitchen staff worker. Gareth and Cyril get into frequent arguments about business decisions, including Reneé’s presence in the kitchen.