“ | Extreme feast? Eep! I'll get cooking!” |
— Chef Kawasaki • Kirby Star Allies |
Chef Kawasaki (sometimes called Cook Kawasaki[1] or just Kawasaki) is a recurring character in the Kirby series that debuted as a mid-boss in Kirby Super Star. In his following appearances, Kawasaki tends to serve as a friend or ally to Kirby.
Physical Appearance[]
Chef Kawasaki is a tall, egg-shaped being dressed in chef's attire. He has an orange body with arms emerging from his sides that taper to stubs, much like Kirby's arms. Kawasaki has tall, dark eyes and a wavering smile. He has simple red feet that look almost exactly like those of Kirby's. Kawasaki wears a toque and a full body apron with a blue striped pocket on the front. He is normally seen carrying a frying pan, and sometimes a metal ladle. When he is a friend in Kirby Star Allies, he wears the Cook ability's toque and shrinks in size.
Games[]
Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra[]
Kirby Super Star marks Chef Kawasaki's debut. As a mid-boss, Kawasaki has two basic attacks: he can extend his ladle forward to catch Kirby, which drags him back and lets the chef fry him up, dealing damage, and Kawasaki may also reach into his pocket and toss out dishes, either one or three, at a spread of upward angles. These can be inhaled and spat back at him. Other times, Kawasaki either jumps up and down in a fit of rage or walks to the other side of his area.
When swallowed after being defeated, Chef Kawasaki grants the Cook ability, being the only source of it in this game outside of Mix. If a Helper touches him while Hyper following his defeat, they will transform into a random Helper.
Kawasaki also appears within Samurai Kirby as the third challenger. He gets hit with a pie when defeated, and whacks Kirby with a frying pan if the player fails to press the button at the right time.
Exclusively in Kirby Super Star Ultra, a target with Chef Kawasaki on it appears in the sub-game Kirby on the Draw. It yields 40 points when shot.
Kirby's Dream Land 3[]
Chef Kawasaki appears as a friendly character in this game, and challenges the player to a test of skill in order to earn a Heart Star. Kawasaki is found in the third stage of Iceberg. In order to win the chef's game, the player must correctly match the sound Kawasaki makes using his frying pan with a Gordo that produces the same noise. Chef Kawasaki makes another appearance in Super NES MG5, the Extra Game in Kirby's Dream Land 3. The test the player must undertake is the same.
Kirby's Star Stacker (Super Famicom)[]
Chef Kawasaki fights Kirby over a star piece from Mr. Star in the fifth level of the game, since Kawasaki wants to use the star piece in his cooking. He is fought after Kirby defeats Knuckle Joe and defeating Kawasaki will allow Kirby to fight Meta Knight. When defeated, Kawasaki is seen fleeing the scene on fire.
Chef Kawasaki's board introduces Hard Blocks in the initial layout. This layout is staircase-shaped, but is remarkably taller than the one previously seen with Lovely. Chef Kawasaki's AI is aggressive, and will pursue combos as he can see fit while always fast dropping blocks. Most of Kawasaki's combos are usually game-ending if not countered. Additionally, blocks are being dropped at a rather fast pace.
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land[]
Kawasaki is a competitor in the Quick Draw sub-game. He only appears in the sub-game's single-player mode, and acts much like he does in Kirby Super Star.
Kirby Mass Attack[]
This section contains information that does not coincide with the main series canon. | |
Like a few other characters in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (namely Chef Shiitake, Escargoon, Max Flexer, and the N.M.E. Sales Guy), Chef Kawasaki reappears in Kirby Mass Attack. He appears in the Kirby Quest sub-game. Instead of acting as a regular foe, Kawasaki is faced in a bonus round of sorts, and thus does not counterattack.
Chef Kawasaki stands in his kitchen, holding a Maxim Tomato in his frying pan. Upon his defeat, the Maxim Tomato will fly into the group of Kirbys, giving them a huge amount of EXP. If the player misses an attack, however, Kawasaki will walk away, taking the Maxim Tomato with him.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land[]
While Chef Kawasaki himself does not appear in the game, a robotic version of the chef known as Mecha Kawasaki appears as the boss of Mission 2 in the Scope Shot sub-game.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe[]
Chef Kawasaki appears as a keychain in this game.
Kirby Star Allies[]
Chef Kawasaki makes an appearance as a mid-boss, and he also serves as the friend for the Cook ability, with an expanded moveset. As a mid-boss, he now throws cups and spoons alongside dishes. A stronger version of Chef Kawasaki appears in later stages, with white skin, a black toque and a black apron. Here, he has access to a new attack, in which he spins in the air and tosses cups, spoons and dishes downwards. His ladle also has a longer reach, extending towards the whole screen.
Chef Kawasaki appears in the game's boss rush mode, The Ultimate Choice, as a part of Mid-Boss All-Stars #2. He appears in seven levels of difficulty (Mild Stroll, Zesty Expedition, Spicy Adventure, Sizzling Threat, Fiery Showdown, Infernal Crisis and Soul Melter).
During Soul Melter EX, he will be accompanied by four Two Faces.
Moveset[]
Move | Controls | Description | Damage[2] | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ladle | Kawasaki will use his extending ladle to attack forward. | 16 | ||
Up Ladle | + | + | Kawasaki will use his extending ladle to attack upwards. | 16 |
Plateware | Dash + in midair | Dash + in midair | Kawasaki will throw three pieces of tableware in an arc. | 16 |
Cook Pot | Press and hold , and then release | Press and hold , and then release | All enemies, projectiles, and defeated mid-bosses on-screen are sucked into Kirby's or Chef Kawasaki's pot, cooked, and then transformed into food Kirby can use to replenish his health (this move does not work on bosses). If there is nothing to use this move on, the ability will not disappear. Chef Kawasaki must wait for the move to recharge before using it again. | N/A |
Souper Supper | Press and hold longer before releasing | Press and hold longer before releasing | All enemies, projectiles, and defeated mid-bosses on-screen are sucked into Kirby's or Chef Kawasaki's pot, overcooked, and then shot out out of the pot as soup splashes everywhere, damaging enemies, mid-bosses, and bosses on-screen; like Cook Pot, anything sucked into the pot will drop food and Chef Kawasaki must wait for the move to recharge before using it again. |
Move | Controls | Description | Damage[2] | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ladle | Kawasaki will use his extending ladle to attack forward. | 16 | ||
Up Ladle | + | + | Kawasaki will use his extending ladle to attack upwards. | 16 |
Plateware | Dash + in midair | Dash + in midair | Kawasaki will throw three pieces of tableware in an arc. | 16 |
Cook Pot | Press and hold , and then release | Press and hold , and then release | All enemies, projectiles, and defeated mid-bosses on-screen are sucked into Kirby's or Chef Kawasaki's pot, cooked, and then transformed into food Kirby can use to replenish his health (this move does not work on bosses). If there is nothing to use this move on, the ability will not disappear. Chef Kawasaki must wait for the move to recharge before using it again. | N/A |
Souper Supper | Press and hold longer before releasing | Press and hold longer before releasing | All enemies, projectiles, and defeated mid-bosses on-screen are sucked into Kirby's or Chef Kawasaki's pot, overcooked, and then shot out out of the pot as soup splashes everywhere, damaging enemies, mid-bosses, and bosses on-screen; like Cook Pot, anything sucked into the pot will drop food and Chef Kawasaki must wait for the move to recharge before using it again. |
Friend Abilities[]
Friend Ability | Controls | Mix | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Cook Potluck | Use Cook Pot with friends nearby | Anyone | During Cook Pot, all friends will jump into Kirby's or Chef Kawasaki's pot. They will get cooked, and then they will pop out with extra food that they can use to replenish their health. |
Supper Party | Use Souper Supper with friends nearby | Anyone | During Souper Supper, all friends will jump into Kirby's or Chef Kawasaki's pot. They will get overcooked and then fly out with extra food, bouncing everywhere around the screen, damaging any enemy they hit. |
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[]
Chef Kawasaki reprises his role from Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra as a challenger of Samurai Kirby, this time as the second challenger. A target with Chef Kawasaki on it also appears in Kirby on the Draw, reprising its role form Kirby Super Star Ultra. The target gives 40 points to the character who shot it.
Due to the absence of Scope Shot, Mecha Kawasaki does not return.
In Kirby: Right Back at Ya![]
This section contains information that does not coincide with the main series canon. | |
“ | Ah. Goodness me, I'm the only restaurant in town and still I get no customers!” |
— Chef Kawasaki • A Recipe for Disaster |
Kawasaki also appears in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! as one of the few non-Cappies living in Cappy Town. Kawasaki runs the only restaurant in town, which is the only reason he gets any business. He studied under the famous Chef Shiitake, but he just never got it. All his dishes are either bland (at best) or terrible (at worst), but he keeps trying, hoping to eventually impress even his teacher. The only characters who enjoyed his cooking were Kirby, Princess Rona, Sir Gallant, and in the series' finale, Mabel, Samo, and King Dedede. Despite people describing his food as "awful," customers still come in to eat. The only thing he ever cooked that was relatively delicious was freeze-dried space food in Combat Kirby, although in Delivery Dilemma, it is shown that Kawasaki has improved his cooking and the people of Cappy Town are actually eating and even ordering food. Chef Kawasaki's biggest roles are in The Hot Shot Chef / A Spice Odyssey, A Chow Challenge, A Recipe for Disaster, and Dedede's Raw Deal. The bad meals that he usually prepares were later put to use by King Dedede when he force-fed N.M.E. Sales Guy some of Kawasaki's prepared foods as revenge in Fright to the Finish. He also acted as an ally at Fright to the Finish, feeding Kirby ice to defeat Heavy Lobster, and setting dynamite along with Kit Cosmos and Tokkori to blow up Nightmare's Fortress.
He hired Kirby in one episode, although he was later forced to fire him for a mess simply because the ones actually responsible, Dedede and Escargoon, far outranked him and thus could not actually be fired.
Kawasaki is the main source of the Cook ability in the anime, which is often obtained from his frying pan. He does give Kirby other abilities in rare cases (an anime appearance of the Superspicy Curry in The Hot Shot Chef / A Spice Odyssey, and Ice Kirby with ice cubes in Combat Kirby).
In the anime's English dub, Chef Kawasaki was portrayed by the late Maddie Blaustein, who gave him a voice like that of the late comedian Ed Wynn (known for his act as the "Perfect Fool"). In Kirby 3D, following Blaustein's death in 2008, Kawasaki was voiced by Ted Lewis. As a result, his voice is slightly different.
In the Super Smash Bros. series[]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Kawasaki appears as a sticker with his design from Kirby Super Star. Applicable by anyone, this sticker increases Launch Resistance by 20.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Kawasaki appears as an Assist Trophy. Upon being summoned, Kawasaki walks and jumps around slowly, throwing plates and bowls at opponents. He also uses a move similar to Kirby's Final Smash from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Cook. He tries to catch a fighter by swinging his ladle forward and into an upward arc, and if he is successful, he cooks the opponent and inflicts damage. After a few seconds, the opponent is launched with slight knockback and food will pop out the pot. Before leaving, Kawasaki will drop a slice of pie.
Chef Kawasaki also appears as an Ace-class support spirit. When applied to a fighter, the fighter's stats will highly increase after eating.
Etymology[]
Kawasaki's name is derived from Kawasaki, a city in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture. The city is famous for its motorcycles. According to Kirby series creator Masahiro Sakurai, Kawasaki's designer liked motorcycles and named him based on this passion.[3] Chef Nagoya and Chef Oosaka (Chef Shiitake in the dub) are also named after cities in Japan.
Quotes[]
“ | Hey, King Dedede! I didn't know you and Escargoon were into sushi.” |
— Chef Kawasaki • A Princess in Dis-Dress |
“ | When they get a taste of this, I'll be the hottest chef in town!” |
— Chef Kawasaki • The Hot Shot Chef / A Spice Odyssey |
“ | Ah! Knock it off, you lowlifes, or at least order something!” |
— Chef Kawasaki to the Mini-Monsters • Monster Management |
“ | I knew sheep liked grass, but who knew they liked my food?” |
— Chef Kawasaki • Sheepwrecked |
“ | Come on, Tiffy! Don't be a spoilsport. Just give it a try!” |
— Chef Kawasaki, about the annual Spook Out competition • Scare Tactics - Part I |
“ | Wow! I couldn't get a cake to rise that high!” |
— Chef Kawasaki • Kirby Takes the Cake |
“ | If everybody gets used to good food, I'm gonna go out of business!” |
— Chef Kawasaki • The Meal Moocher |
“ | Hold on! Sushi is a very special dish that has a long and proud history. Sushi making is an art! Anybody who uses a robot to make sushi is just selling out for profit. Now... let's get that sushi rolling!” |
— Chef Kawasaki • Dedede's Raw Deal |
“ | If it wasn't for Nagoya, I wouldn't be a chef.” |
— Chef Kawasaki, about Chef Nagoya • A Chow Challenge |
“ | Oh hello Kirby, come on in. I got some leftover turkey jerky hash if you want... Where you goin'?” |
— Chef Kawasaki • Frog Wild |
“ | I can mess up the mess hall, so count me in, too!” |
— Chef Kawasaki • Cappy Town Down |
“ | Cooking this space food is as easy as boiling water!” |
— Chef Kawasaki • Combat Kirby |
“ | Don't let him get away! I've been lookin' for some fresh lobster to make a ravioli. Doesn't get fresher than this!” |
— Chef Kawasaki • Kirby 3D |
Related Quotes[]
“ | He'll try to catch Kirby with a spatula and cook him!” |
— Enemy Characters • Kirby Super Star Instruction Booklet |
“ | Chef Kawasaki has a busy schedule, so he's only appearing in this game as a figurine. He rarely uses his frying pan and ladle to do any actual cooking- he finds they actually work better as weapons.” |
— Figurine description • Kirby and the Rainbow Curse |
“ | This chef goes on the hunt for ingredients beyond the edge of the world! He senses great deliciousness and must control his hunger until his culinary quest is done!” |
— Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go! description • Kirby Star Allies |
“ | A longtime acquaintance of Kirby's, this sensational chef can use his cooking tools as weapons and even cook up enemies and turn them into food for his friends. Bon appétit!” |
— Choose your buddy • Play Nintendo |
“ | He grabs opponents using his long ladle and mixes them into a pot! The unlucky opponent will continue to take damage as the chef cooks up health recovery items. You can then use his food to recover your health (just don't think about the recipe)!” |
— Chef Kawasaki Assist Trophy • Official Super Smash Bros. Ultimate website |
“ | Grabs hold of opponents and mixes them into a pot. Once the broth is ready, he'll make health recovery items!” |
— Training Mode • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate |
Trivia[]
- In Kirby Super Star, if Kirby uses the Copy ability on Chef Kawasaki, Kirby will get a random ability, despite Chef Kawasaki offering the Cook ability when inhaled regularly. This was fixed in the remake.
- Kawasaki appears as a figurine in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse.
- Ironically, when Kawasaki cooks food that generally tastes good, his end result tastes bad; in Combat Kirby, however, Kawasaki cooks space food—a food often considered poor in taste—and makes it taste good.
- In the anime, it can be observed that Kawasaki complains a lot, generally when something bad happens to him.
- The artwork of Kawasaki appears in the Beginner's Beach stage of Flagball, a Battle Mode in Kirby Battle Royale.
- In Kirby Super Star, the normally digit less Kawasaki gains a thumb when he uses his ladle.
- Chef Kawasaki is the only Helper to represent a limited-use Copy Ability.
- In Kirby Star Allies, each Friend/Copy Ability has a corresponding piece of food involved in Kawasaki's Cook Potluck and Supper Party Friend Abilities.
- In Kirby Star Allies, in the title, file select, and menu screens, Chef Kawasaki can be seen chasing after Birdon and Coo, presumably to cook them.
- If Kawasaki performs any of his Cook moves, a timer will appear dictating how long he has before he can use a Cook move again. This timer does not reset if Kawasaki is replaced with another Kawasaki or is changed to a different helper before being changed back.
- Chef Kawasaki is one of three mid-bosses to be allied with Kirby in the anime, the others being Phan Phan and Bonkers.
- Bonkers, Bugzzy, Chef Kawasaki and Vividria are the only helpers who are also Mid-bosses.
- In Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Chef Kawasaki is the only challenger in Samurai Kirby to not be a playable character in said game.