‘I think male chefs need exposure therapy to women’

Slutty Cheff won online fans with her scandalous stories of sex, love and drugs in London’s top restaurants. Ahead of the release of her memoir, she speaks to Lydia Spencer-Elliott about sexism, dating, and why she keeps her identity secret

- Lydia Spencer-Elliott

“Sorry, I’ve just got to overtake this bastard,” says Slutty Cheff, the anonymous internet cook, amid a cacophony of engine revs as she hurtles down the motorway on the way to therapy. It’s a characteristically chaotic outing to accompany her on. But counselling is a must today; it’s a matter of hours until the release of Tart - her debut book, a memoir that heralds Slutty as a cross between Anthony Bourdain and Lena Dunham. “I would never say that,” she demurs when I bring up the comparisons. “I mean, I would. But not out loud.”

Slutty made a (user)name for herself on Instagram (@sluttycheff) in 2023, when she began lifting the lid on the sex and drug culture of London’s restaurant scene. The stories, salacious and anonymous, quickly garnered her a loyal following of 44,000 people hungry for the next slice. While her face may be concealed (most often by a burger emoji), every other detail - the thrusts, kisses, and bites — is laid out unashamedly for her fans to ogle at.

This public hedonism (“I’m just spewing out words”) has landed Slutty, now 27, a column in Vogue as well as a book deal for Tart, which she wrote in snatches of time between gruelling kitchen shifts at top restaurants. It comes at a time of increased interest in kitchen culture. There’s the Jeremy Allen White-fronted Emmy-winning series The Bear and Anya Taylor-Joy’s dark comedy The Menu, not to mention the smorgasbord of foodie Instagram accounts that make fresh produce look like a luxury fashion campaign. The memoir follows her life over four tumultuous years of shagging, cheffing, and eating. “A lot of it is just like intrusive thoughts you’d never say out loud,” she says of the “self-indulgent” copy. “I can be quite the prude in person.”

Alongside the sexcapades,