| “ | When they get a taste of this, I'll be the hottest chef in town!” |
| — Chef Kawasaki • Kirby: Right Back at Ya! |
Chef Kawasaki (sometimes called Cook Kawasaki or just Kawasaki) is a recurring character that debuted as mid-boss in Kirby Super Star. In following appearances, Kawasaki tended to serve as a sort of friend or ally to Kirby.
Chef Kawasaki is a tall, egg-shaped being dressed in chef's attire. He has an orange body with a slight backwards lean with arms emerging from his sides that taper to simple hands. He has tall, dark eyes and a wavering smile. He has simple red feet that stick out from the bottom of his form with no legs between them and his body. He wears a toque (chef's hat) 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.
In the Games
Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra
Kawasaki performs a small series of actions when battled. He can extend his frying pan forward to catch Kirby, which drags him back and lets the chef fry him up. He also reaches into his pocket and tosses out dishes, either one or three, at a spread of upward angles. These can be inhaled and exhaled back at him. Other times, Kawasaki either jumps up and down in a fit of rage or walks to the other side of the screen.
When swallowed after being defeated, he grants the Cook ability, being the only source of it in this game outside of mixing.
Kawasaki also appears within Samurai Kirby as the third challenger. He gets hit with a pie when defeated.
In Revenge of Meta Knight, Kirby fights Kawasaki and Bugzzy in a cloud.
Kirby's Dream Land 3
Chef Kawasaki is not an enemy in this game per se, but he must still be bested. He is found in the third stage of Iceberg. He presides over the Heart Star sub-game "What was that sound?" In order to earn his Heart Star, Kirby must properly match the sound Kawasaki makes with a Gordo that produces the same noise. He also appears with the same purpose in Super NES MG5, the Extra Game in Kirby's Dream Land 3.
Kirby's Super Star Stacker
Chef Kawasaki fights Kirby over a star piece in the fifth level. He wants to use it in his cooking. When defeated, he is seen fleeing the scene on fire.
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
Kawasaki is a competitor in the Quick Draw sub-game. He only appears in the single-player mode.
Kirby Mass Attack
Kawasaki appears as a joke character in sub-game Kirby Quest, similar to Chef Shiitake and Max Flexer.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land
A robotic form of Chef Kawasaki appears in the Scope Shot sub-game under the title of "Mecha Kawasaki."
In the Anime
Kawasaki in the anime.
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. While Kawasaki's cooking may stink, Kirby loves it. 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. 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 Customer Service 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 to blow up Nightmare's Fortress.
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 unofficial Fire Kirby with his spicy food in The Hot Shot Chef / A Spice Odyssey, and Ice Kirby with ice cubes in Combat Kirby).
Trivia
- In Kirby Super Star, if Kirby uses the Copy 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.
- In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Chef Kawasaki appears as a sticker, using his design from Kirby Super Star.
- Although Chef Kawasaki is a mid-boss in the Kirby games, he is friendly toward Kirby in the anime.
- His apron has a glassy blue square on it, which could be meant to look like the window of an oven
- In the anime, Chef Kawasaki seems to suffer from pyrophobia, but can be immune to fire itself.
- In the anime's English dub, Chef Kawasaki has a voice like that of the late comedian Ed Wynn (known for his act as the "Perfect Fool").
- In Kirby 3D, Kawasaki's voice sounds slightly different. This is because Kirby 3D was dubbed after the death of Maddie Blaustein, Kawasaki's voice actress.
Artwork
Gallery
Sprites
