Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator

Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator combines cooking simulation and restaurant management. Your kitchen is both your workplace and part of a business whose menu, equipment, staff and finances must be managed. Players prepare the dishes themselves, while guests judge service, quality and the venue's design.

The path leads from a smaller restaurant business to ambitious gastronomy. Instead of simply working through orders, the aim is to develop recipes, source ingredients and prepare operations so that a full evening service succeeds. The game was developed by Cyanide Studio and published by Nacon.

Chef Life was released on February 23, 2023. According to the store information, this date applies to PC and the native versions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. The PlayStation and Xbox versions cannot be explained by backward compatibility alone, as the platform stores explicitly list each console generation.

Alongside the base game there is the Al Forno Edition, which combines the base game with the pizza add-on pack of the same name. Further DLCs are sold separately. An edition is therefore not an independent seventh platform release.

The game has been released for Windows PC as well as PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. The platform names should be read separately: a game on Xbox Series is not automatically a native Xbox One title, and vice versa. Here the official stores actually list both Xbox generations as well as both PlayStation generations.

For Switch, a separate release on February 23, 2023 is documented. A special version for Switch 2 is not listed in the official product pages consulted.

In everyday kitchen work, ingredients are prepared, heated, combined and finally plated. The tasks range from cutting to frying, grilling and baking, to mixing. What counts is not only individual steps but also preparing several dishes when orders come in at the same time.

The result comes from combining recipe, workflow and organization. Additional cooking stations open new work steps; the growing restaurant operation also raises demands on speed and coordination.

The add-ons expand the permanent menu and design options. The Al Forno Pack brings pizza into the restaurant, including a wood-fired oven, eight pizza recipes and around 65 matching customization elements. The Al Forno Edition bundles this pack with the base game, while the DLC is also sold separately.

Bon Appétit Pack adds further content. The free Cooking Lab adds an area for developing individual dishes. Tokyo Delight was released on March 28, 2024 and expands the menu with eight Japanese recipes, 24 ingredients and a cooking station for sushi rice. Furnishing items and plating options are also included.

The packs are additional content for the main game, not independently playable sequels. Scope and purchase options may vary by platform or edition.

For the Windows version, Nacon lists as minimum Windows 10, 6 GB RAM, an Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD FX-4100 and a GeForce GTS 450 (1 GB), Radeon HD 5750 (1 GB) or Intel HD Graphics 630. DirectX 11 and about 7 GB of free storage are required.

Windows 10, a Core i5-2400 or FX-8350 and a GTX 760 (2 GB) or Radeon HD 7870 (2 GB) are listed as recommended hardware. This profile also lists 6 GB RAM and 7 GB storage. The manufacturer's details describe hardware requirements, not a guaranteed frame rate on a specific configuration.

Running the business involves purchasing, kitchen and service. Whoever offers dishes must source suitable ingredients from suppliers, schedule staff and equip workstations. Spending, orders and preparations for evening service are connected: a more attractive menu is of little use if the kitchen cannot keep up under order pressure.

As the venue grows, organizational demands change. Decisions about equipment and staff are therefore part of the game system and not just decoration between cooking sections.

The restaurant starts with a selection of basic dishes whose recipes can be refined. According to the store description, the menu also takes season and guest expectations into account. New recipes and improving existing dishes open paths to a more demanding menu.

The expansion packs widen the scope: Al Forno focuses on pizza, Tokyo Delight on Japanese cuisine. The Cooking Lab adds the option to develop your own recipe ideas within the game system provided for this.

Players can choose and arrange cooking stations, stoves, kitchen appliances and other work equipment. The dining area is designed in parallel. The design is more than a one-time fixed backdrop: as progress is made, the restaurant can be adapted to new demands and the desired gastronomic style.

Special furnishing sets expand the visual options. For example, Al Forno provides pizzeria fittings, while Tokyo Delight adds decorations for a restaurant with a Japanese focus.

Chef Life combines daily work with a long-term goal. Guests should be satisfied, recipes learned, and quality and service improved. The restaurant can develop from a local meeting place towards high-end cuisine, with Michelin Guide awards serving as the game goal.

Progress does not come from new furniture alone. Cooking quality, menu, preparation and day-to-day operations work together. The simulation therefore has a different goal than pure restaurant decoration.

Chef Life is listed as a single-player simulation. The game consists of the ongoing expansion and running of a restaurant and the cooking tasks that arise along the way. A shared online kitchen operation or cross-platform co-op is not announced in the official store feature lists.

The various console versions have their own native product versions. By contrast, an edition such as Al Forno only changes the included content and does not fundamentally change the game mode.

The PC version supports German user interface and German subtitles according to Steam. Full voice-over is listed there only for English. Nacon lists a total of 14 supported language versions, including German, French, Spanish, Japanese and Korean.

The specific language version should always be checked on the respective platform store. For Switch, Nintendo lists German as a supported language. The language list alone does not indicate any additional accessibility features.