cook
What does cook mean?
The π§βπ³ cook emoji features a gender-inclusive person wearing a traditional white culinary toque (chef's hat) and a professional kitchen uniform. Depending on the platform, they are typically shown holding a frying pan with a cooking egg or a kitchen utensil. It primarily represents cooking, baking, culinary arts, and the restaurant industry. As a visual shorthand for food preparation, it covers everyone from Michelin-starred professionals executing complex dishes to home cooks trying out a new weekend recipe. In everyday digital communication, this emoji is frequently paired with food emojis to share homemade meals, baking triumphs, or upcoming dinner plans. You will often spot it in Instagram captions for food photography, culinary vlogs, and recipe tutorials. It also serves as a great way to compliment a friend or family member who just prepared a delicious meal, or to express that you are currently busy preparing food in the kitchen.
Slang & Modern Usage
In internet slang, the π§βπ³ cook emoji is heavily tied to the viral "let him cook" or "who let bro cook" memes. This popular Gen Z and TikTok trend uses "cooking" as a metaphor for giving someone the space to do what they do best, share an unfiltered opinion, or work on a creative project. If someone is dropping a compelling take on X (formerly Twitter) or making an impressive play in a video game, users will reply with "let him π§βπ³" to show their support and encourage them to keep going. Conversely, if someone shares a terrible idea or makes a cringeworthy statement, the slang flips to "who let him π§βπ³," implying they should be banned from the metaphorical kitchen. Beyond this specific meme, the emoji is also used figuratively to represent "cooking up" a scheme, producing a music beat, or crafting a clever excuse.
Emoji Combos
Platform Differences
While most platforms (including Apple, Google, and Samsung) show the chef holding a frying pan with a fried egg, platforms like X (Twitter) depict the chef holding a stirring spoon instead.
Technical Information
| Unicode | U+1F9D1 U+200D U+1F373 |
| HTML Entity | 🧑‍🍳 |
| CSS | \1F9D1\200D\1F373 |
| JavaScript | \u{1F9D1}\u{200D}\u{1F373} |
| Unicode Version | Unicode 12.1 |
| Status | Fully-qualified |