# Cook (domestic worker) > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cook_(domestic_worker) > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cook_(domestic_worker).md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_(domestic_worker) > Source revision: 1347732291 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Staff member responsible for food preparation This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Cook" domestic worker – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (September 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (April 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) 1855 Illustration of a "Disgruntled Cook" A **cook** or **private chef** is a household staff member responsible for food preparation. ## Description The term can refer to the head of [kitchen staff](/source/Brigade_de_cuisine) in a [great house](/source/Great_house) or to the cook-housekeeper, a far less prestigious position involving more physical labour. The cook in an English great house was traditionally female; today's residences may employ a head cook or [chef](/source/Chef) who may be of either gender. The cook is responsible for the preparation of daily meals and menus, as well as menus for parties and other special occasions. The cook is also responsible for the ordering of food, the maintenance of the kitchen and for keeping accounts with local merchants. The holder of the position reports directly to the [lady](/source/Lady) of the house or sometimes to the [housekeeper](/source/Housekeeper_(domestic_worker)). The cook supervises all kitchen staff. In large households, especially at a [noble](/source/Nobility) or royal court, this comprises an elaborate hierarchy, at the bottom of which come the kitchen boys (who, despite the name, were not always minors), in the largest households even further subdivided, perhaps the lowliest position being that of spitboy or turnbroach, who had to remain close to the hot fire to turn the roasting meat; there were six at [Hampton Court](/source/Hampton_Court) palace in [Henry VIII](/source/Henry_VIII_of_England)'s reign. There can be occasional staff conflicts over who supervises [between staff](/source/Between_maid), who may have duties that bring them into the realms of the cook, the housekeeper and the [butler](/source/Butler). In the hierarchy of [domestic service](/source/Domestic_service), a cook usually earned her position through [apprenticeship](/source/Apprenticeship), perhaps beginning in service as a [kitchen maid](/source/Kitchen_maid_(domestic_worker)). Today's cooks are likely to have spent years in domestic service in different households, or have gone to cooking school. Few modern families can afford retinues of domestic workers, so the cook is often expected to be a [cook-housekeeper](/source/Housekeeper_(domestic_worker)#Today's_cook-housekeeper) and responsible for cleaning and nannying as well. ## Known private cooks - [Marie-Antoine Carême](/source/Marie-Antoine_Car%C3%AAme), for [Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord](/source/Charles_Maurice_de_Talleyrand-P%C3%A9rigord), [Tsar Alexander I of Russia](/source/Alexander_I_of_Russia) and [George the Prince Regent](/source/George_IV) - [Charles Elmé Francatelli](/source/Charles_Elm%C3%A9_Francatelli), for [Queen Victoria](/source/Queen_Victoria) - [Avis Crocombe](/source/Avis_Crocombe), for [Charles Neville, 5th Baron Braybrooke](/source/Charles_Neville%2C_5th_Baron_Braybrooke) at [Audley End House](/source/Audley_End_House); noted for a notebook of Victorian-era recipes that inspired a web series operated by [English Heritage](/source/English_Heritage) - [Margaret Powell](/source/Margaret_Powell), who began as a [kitchen girl](/source/Kitchen_maid_(domestic_worker)) at the age of 15, later advanced to become a private cook.[1] - [Michel Roux](/source/Michel_Roux), for [Philippe de Rothschild](/source/Philippe_de_Rothschild) ## In popular culture - [Aunt Chloe](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aunt_Chloe&action=edit&redlink=1), described as the "first cook in the neighborhood", in *[Uncle Tom's Cabin](/source/Uncle_Tom's_Cabin)* - [Aunt Jemima](/source/Aunt_Jemima), a fictional character in advertising - Mrs. Patmore (played by [Lesley Nicol](/source/Lesley_Nicol_(actress))), the Earl of Grantham's cook at Downton Abbey in the acclaimed ITV/PBS television series [Downton Abbey](/source/Downton_Abbey) (2010-2015) - [Blath of Kildare](/source/Blath_of_Kildare), patron saint of cooks ## See also - [Cook (profession)](/source/Cook_(profession)) - [Domestic worker](/source/Domestic_worker) - [Personal chef](/source/Personal_chef) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Veronica Horwell. ["The servant question"](http://mondediplo.com/2013/01/12series). Le Monde Diplomatique. Retrieved 25 October 2015. ## External links - [Channel4- worst jobs in history- Tudor](http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/W/worstjobs/tudor.html) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cook (domestic worker)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_(domestic_worker)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_(domestic_worker)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.