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 1-3
Gareth 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 to 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 1-3
Janice 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 1–3
Everton Stonehead went to 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 1
Lucinda 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, which comes with no increase in pay. She has Gareth's respect and stands up to him more than any of the other staff will. Although generally more good-tempered than Gareth, angering Lucinda is just as unwise, as she is just as scathing and even more ruthless than he.
Gustave LaRoche
Played By: Ian McNeice, 3 episodes in 1994 and Jeff Nuttal, 6 episodes in 1996
Appears in: Series 2, 3
Gustave LaRoche was a talented chef about ten years before the setting of the show. His real name is Gary Lamston (spelling uncertain), but he changed his name because, in his day, one had to be French to be taken seriously as a chef. In Series 2 ("A River Runs Through It") Gareth seeks him out to replace Lucinda as sous chef. He is found working in The Provençal, 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. Gareth, Janice and Everton help him to receive treatment for his alcoholism, but he does have relapses. In series 3, 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 1
Piers 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. Piers frequently finds himself on the receiving end of Gareth's fiery temper, in fact he is a close second to Everton in the verbal abuse stakes.
Otto
Played By: Erkan Mustafa
Appears in: Series 1
Otto is a kitchen staff worker. He doesn't appear to be especially talented nor especially incompetent.
Crispin
Played By: Tim Matthews
Appears in: Series 2
Crispin 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 2
Donald is a kitchen staff worker. He has a poor relationship with his father.
Debra
Played By: Pui Fan Lee
Appears in: Series 2
Debra is a kitchen staff worker. She also is a hopeless romantic who is especially susceptible to the smell of onions. Pui Fan Lee is best known for playing Po on Teletubbies.