Jerome “Chef” McElroy is a former recurring character on the animated series South Park. Voiced by Isaac Hayes, Chef, as his nickname implied, worked as an elementary school cafeteria worker in the fictional town of South Park, Colorado. Generally portrayed as more level-headed than the other adult residents of the town, Chef’s guidance was often sought by the show’s core group of child protagonists – Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick – as he was usually the only adult they consistently trusted. To an inadvertent fault, he would frequently give inappropriate advice, usually in the non sequitur form of a lascivious soul song. Chef was inspired by Hayes and other popular soul singers of the 1970s, as well as an actual dining hall worker encountered by series co-creator Trey Parker while he attended the University of Colorado. Chef played a less prominent role as the series progressed beyond its earlier seasons, and the character was killed off in the beginning of the tenth season in “The Return of Chef”, in response to public controversy with Hayes, who left the show after the controversial episode “Trapped in the Closet”, which satirized Scientology. ‘Chef Aid: The South Park Album’ is an album based on the ‘Chef Aid’ episode of South Park. The album was available with 2 collectible covers and in three different versions — “Clean”, “Explicit”, and “Extreme”. Chef features on four tracks on the album. |
