The Swedish Chef





"Statler: Why doesn't he go back to what he was doing before he became a chef? Waldorf: What was that? Statler: Nothing!"

—from Episode 404: Dyan Cannon

The Swedish Chef is the incomprehensible preparer of foodstuffs from The Muppet Show. A rather literal variation of the Live-Hand Muppet concept, the Swedish Chef is a humanoid character, with human hands rather than gloves. On The Muppet Show, Frank Oz performed the character's hands. The chef first appeared in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence in 1975, with Chinese subtitles for his dialog, and Richard Hunt performing the hands. Only in poser puppets used specifically for photo shoots does the Swedish Chef have standard Muppet hands.

According to Brian Henson in one of his introductions for The Muppet Show, "Jim Henson had this tape that he used to play which was "How to Speak Mock Swedish". And he used to drive to work and I used to ride with him a lot. And he would drive to work trying to make a chicken sandwich in Mock Swedish or make a turkey casserole in Mock Swedish. It was the most ridiculous thing you had ever seen. And people at traffic lights used to stop and sort of look at him a little crazy. But that was the roots of the character that would eventually become the Swedish Chef." Jim Henson had previously explored the idea of a funny foreign chef at the US Food Fair that took place in Hamburg, Germany in 1961, where Sam and Friends character Omar prepared a flaming salad while speaking in some quite comprehensible mock German that Henson and Jerry Juhl had previously scribbled down in phonetics.

Nearly all Swedish Chef sketches begin with him in a kitchen, waving some utensils while singing his signature song in a trademark mock Swedish, a semi-comprehensible gibberish which parodies the characteristic vowel sounds of Swedish. The last line of the song is always "Børk! Børk! Børk!" and is punctuated by the Chef throwing the utensils over his shoulder to crash into the crockery behind him. (Although the letter "ø" does not exist in Swedish — it is a Danish/Norwegian letter whose Swedish equivalent is "ö" - the Chef's trademark word is nearly universally spelled as "Børk.")

After this introduction, the Chef continues to speak gibberish while preparing a particular recipe. His commentary is spiced with the occasional English word to clue the viewer in to what he is attempting. These clues are necessary as he frequently uses unorthodox culinary equipment (firearms, tennis rackets, etc.) to prepare his dishes. The sketch typically degenerates into a slapstick finale, and he often winds up in pitched battle with his ingredients, from Lobster Banditos to a Japanese Cake. The Swedish Chef has also appeared, at least briefly, in every Muppet film to date. He was put in charge of running the film projector in The Muppet Movie and Muppet*Vision 3D. In A Muppet Family Christmas, he attempts to cook the Christmas turkey, then sets his sights on Big Bird instead.

The Swedish Chef's popularity led to his own cereal, Cröonchy Stars, in 1988. Commercials for the product featured the Chef, up to his usual antics. In the 1990s, the Swedish Chef appeared regularly on Donna's Day starting in the second season.

In episode 316, Danny Kaye, portraying the chef's uncle in a sketch, claims that the Swedish Chef's first name was Tom. However, since Kaye was not a blood relative in reality, this information may be considered apocryphal.

Casting History
Primary Performers
 * Jim Henson - from The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence (1975) to The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)
 * Bill Barretta - from Muppet Treasure Island (1996) to present

Other Performers
 * David Rudman - The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
 * Steve Whitmire - I Love Lucy Movie Mania Screen Test (1999)
 * Victor Yerrid - From the Balcony: Episode 26 (2006)

Trivia

 * The Chef's gibberish gained a life of its own with the creation of a Unix filter capable of converting standard English to Chefspeak in 1992. The filter quickly became a staple of hacker culture and eventually spread to the mainstream with Swedish Chef translators on several Web sites such as Google. In 2003, Opera Software published a special Bork version of its internet browser that turned the MSN Web site into mock Swedish. Mozilla Firefox also contains a popular add-on called Bork Bork Bork! that allows the selective translation of text from Web pages of the user's choice. It is also a display language there.


 * As a one-note joke, it is revealed by Jean Stapleton (who speaks mock Swedish) in episode 306 of The Muppet Show, that the Swedish Chef's native language is mock Japanese. Others who have conversed in mock Swedish include Steve Martin, Danny Kaye, Fleet Scribbler, Carlton Cuse (in a "Lost Slapdown") and Statler (in episode 412).


 * In episode 319 of Fraggle Rock, Sprocket does an impersonation of the Swedish Chef.


 * There was a Swedish Chef sketch that was taped but not broadcast, in which the Chef prepared ratatouille.


 * In A Muppet Family Christmas he manages to say "Merry Christmas" in Swedish, "God Jul".


 * In The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, the name of his program is "Järnvägskorsning" (Railway Crossings).


 * While The Swedish Chef normally has live human hands, he also occasionally has Muppet hands. Examples include:
 * The Muppet Show episode 218: following The Swedish Chef's sketch.
 * Muppets Tonight episode 101: During the meeting at the beginning of the show.


 * A wedding ring has appeared on the Swedish Chef's left hand as early as 2006.

The Muppet Show Comic Book

 * Meet the Muppets: Because evryone is trying to cheer Kermit up, Robin tries to get the Chef to make Lily Pad Goulash. The Chef fails to understand him and thinks he wants Frogs' Legs Goulash, then takes Robin to make the dish. Onstage, Robin talks the Chef into stopping, and leaves.


 * The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson: Because the Chef is making onion soup at the same time that a toast-hurdling contest is happening, toast flies out of the pot as soon as the recipe is complete.

Filmography

 * The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence
 * The Muppet Show
 * Episode 102: Connie Stevens — sketch
 * Episode 105: Rita Moreno — sketch
 * Episode 111: Lena Horne — sketch
 * Episode 114: Sandy Duncan — sketch
 * Episode 115: Candice Bergen — sketch
 * Episode 120: Valerie Harper — sketch
 * Episode 201: Don Knotts — sketch
 * Episode 205: Judy Collins — sketch
 * Episode 206: Nancy Walker — appears in the diner sketch with Luncheon Counter Monster, Fozzie and Nancy Walker
 * Episode 208: Steve Martin — background
 * Episode 209: Madeline Kahn — sketch
 * Episode 210: George Burns — dishes dirt to Fleet Scribbler who understands his mock Swedish
 * Episode 212: Bernadette Peters — sketch
 * Episode 214: Elton John — sketch
 * Episode 215: Lou Rawls — sketch
 * Episode 216: Cleo Laine — sketch
 * Episode 217: Julie Andrews — sketch
 * Episode 218: Jaye P. Morgan — sketch
 * Episode 220: Petula Clark — sketch
 * Episode 221: Bob Hope — sketch
 * Episode 224: Cloris Leachman — sketch
 * Episode 301: Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge — works in the canteen with Gladys
 * Episode 303: Roy Clark — sketch
 * Episode 306: Jean Stapleton — Sam the Eagle calls him out on his dialect; Jean Stapleton talks to him and discovers his nativie tongue is actually mock Japanese
 * Episode 308: Loretta Lynn — background
 * Episode 309: Liberace — sketch
 * Episode 310: Marisa Berenson — makes a wedding cake for Kermit and Piggy
 * Episode 311: Raquel Welch — sketch
 * Episode 312: James Coco — sketch
 * Episode 313: Helen Reddy — sings Happy Birthday to You with Animal to Helen Reddy
 * Episode 314: Harry Belafonte — swaps places with Kermit in the Pigs in Space sketch
 * Episode 316: Danny Kaye — sketch
 * Episode 317: Spike Milligan — folks of all languages understand Chef's mock Swedish jokes
 * Episode 321: Roger Miller — background
 * Episode 323: Lynn Redgrave — background
 * Episode 401: John Denver — sketch
 * Episode 404: Dyan Cannon — sketch
 * Episode 406: Linda Lavin — makes a replica of Kermit's head made of chopped liver
 * Episode 408: Arlo Guthrie — sketch
 * Episode 412: Phyllis George — sketch
 * Episode 413: Dizzy Gillespie — background
 * Episode 414: Liza Minnelli — background
 * Episode 416: Jonathan Winters — background
 * Episode 420: Alan Arkin — background
 * Episode 423: Carol Channing — sketch
 * Episode 501: Gene Kelly — hits Pops over the head when he says they could use a good cook around here
 * Episode 507: Glenda Jackson — chases Eric the Parrot in "Carolina in the Morning"
 * Episode 508: Señor Wences — sketch
 * Episode 512: Melissa Manchester — sketch
 * Episode 514: Mac Davis — sketch
 * Episode 517: Hal Linden — background
 * Episode 518: Marty Feldman — plays the Caliph
 * Episode 520: Wally Boag — sings "Danny Boy" as one of the Leprechaun Brothers
 * Episode 522: Buddy Rich — sketch
 * Episode 523: Linda Ronstadt — sketch
 * Episode 524: Roger Moore — background
 * John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together
 * The Muppets Go Hollywood
 * The Muppet Movie
 * The Muppets Go to the Movies
 * The Great Muppet Caper
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan
 * The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
 * A Muppet Family Christmas
 * Cröonchy Stars commercials
 * The Jim Henson Hour
 * Episode 107: Health and Fitness
 * Episode 112: Food
 * The Muppets at Walt Disney World
 * The Muppet Christmas Carol
 * "Kokomo" music video
 * Muppet Treasure Island
 * Muppets Tonight
 * Episode 101: Michelle Pfeiffer
 * Muppets from Space
 * Movie Mania
 * Donna's Day
 * "Keep Fishin'" music video
 * It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
 * From the Balcony
 * Episode 4
 * Episode 26
 * The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
 * A Green and Red Christmas
 * Disney Xtreme Digital
 * Secret Elevator Tapes
 * Kermit-Cam
 * Studio DC: Almost Live!
 * A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
 * Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. commercials
 * Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
 * America's Funniest Home Videos
 * Muppet viral videos
 * "Stars and Stripes FOREVER!!"
 * "Habanera"
 * Cårven Der Pümpkîn
 * "Bohemian Rhapsody"
 * "Carol of the Bells"
 * "Pöpcørn"
 * Lost Slapdown
 * The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora
 * Breakfast Isn't Just For Breakfast Anymore
 * The Muppets

Video game appearances

 * Muppet Race Mania
 * Jim Henson's Muppets
 * Muppet Party Cruise
 * The Muppets: On with the Show!

Book appearances

 * The Muppet Show Book
 * The Comic Muppet Book
 * Two for the Show
 * Jim Henson's Muppet Show Bill
 * Muppets at Sea
 * Robin Hood (1980)
 * Muppet Picnic Cookbook (1981)
 * Muppet Time (1996)
 * The Muppet Show Comic Book (2009)
 * Muppet Robin Hood
 * The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson