chef by trade
- noun
:
chef profesional
- After years of experience, he became a chef by trade in one of the city's top restaurants.
Examples
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Oh-you know, I am a chef by trade.
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As a chef by trade, Maria specializes in Italian cuisine.
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Peter is a chef by trade, having trained at a prestigious culinary school.
Synonyms
559
2.3
A professional cook who leads a restaurant or hotel kitchen
356
1.0
A person who prepares food at home or at work
4
3.4
A trained cook who works in a restaurant or at events
How Professional
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'works professionally as a chef' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'chef' (a cook) plus the phrase 'by trade' where 'trade' means occupation and 'by' marks the role or means. This occupational composition is cross-linguistically common (e.g. 'de profesión' in Spanish), so a B1 learner who knows the words should understand the MWE.
Etymology
The phrase chef by trade comes from the idea that trade means a person's job or skill, so someone whose trade is cooking earns a living in the kitchen. That's why chef by trade means 'to work professionally as a chef'.