Chef Kawasaki

Chef Kawasaki (sometimes called Cook Kawasaki or just Kawasaki) is a reocurring character in the Kirby series that debuted as a mid-boss in Kirby Super Star. In his following appearances, Kawasaki tends to serve as a friend or ally to Kirby.

Physical Appearance
Chef Kawasaki is a tall, egg-shaped being dressed in chef's attire. He has an orange body with arms emerging from his sides that taper to stubs, much like Kirby's arms. Kawasaki has tall, dark eyes and a wavering smile. He has simple red feet that look almost exactly like those of Kirby's. Kawasaki wears a toque and a full body apron with a blue striped pocket on the front. He is normally seen carrying a frying pan, and sometimes has a metal ladle.

Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra
Kirby Super Star marks Chef Kawasaki's debut. As a mid-boss, Kawasaki has two basic attacks: he can extend his ladle forward to catch Kirby, which drags him back and lets the chef fry him up, dealing damage, and Kawasaki may also reach into his pocket and toss out dishes, either one or three, at a spread of upward angles. These can be inhaled and spat 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, Chef Kawasaki grants the Cook ability, being the only source of it in this game outside of Mix. If a dying Helper touches him following his defeat, they will transform into a random Helper.

Kawasaki also appears within Samurai Kirby as the third challenger. He gets hit with a pie when defeated, and whacks Kirby with a frying pan if the player fails to press the button at the right time.

Kirby's Dream Land 3
Chef Kawasaki appears as a friendly character in this game, and challenges the player to a test of skill in order to earn a Heart Star. Kawasaki is found in the third stage of Iceberg. In order to win the chef's game, the player must correctly match the sound Kawasaki makes using his frying pan with a Gordo that produces the same noise. Chef Kawasaki makes another appearance in Super NES MG5, the Extra Game in Kirby's Dream Land 3. The test the player must undertake is the same.

Kirby's Super Star Stacker
Chef Kawasaki fights Kirby over a star piece in the fifth level of the game, since Kawasaki wants to use the star piece in his cooking. When defeated, Kawasaki 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 sub-game's single-player mode, and acts much like he does in Kirby Super Star.

Kirby Mass Attack
Like a few other characters in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (namely Chef Shiitake, Escargoon, Max Flexer, and the N.M.E. Sales Guy), Chef Kawasaki reappears in Kirby Mass Attack. He appears in the Kirby Quest sub-game. Instead of acting as a regular foe, Kawasaki is faced in a bonus round of sorts, and thus does not counterattack.

Chef Kawasaki stands in his kitchen, holding a Maxim Tomato in his frying pan. Upon his defeat, the Maxim Tomato will fly into the group of Kirbys, giving them a huge amount of EXP. If the player misses an attack, however, Kawasaki will walk away, taking the Maxim Tomato with him.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land
While Chef Kawasaki himself does not appear in the game, a robotic version of the chef known as Mecha Kawasaki appears as the boss of Mission 2 in the Scope Shot sub-game.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe
Chef Kawasaki appears as a keychain in this game.

Kirby Star Allies
Chef Kawasaki makes an appearance as a mid-boss, and he also serves as the friend for the Cook ability, with an expanded moveset. As a mid-boss, he now throws cups and spoons alongside dishes. A stronger version of Chef Kawasaki appears in later stages, with white skin, a black toque and a black apron. Here, he has access to a new attack, in which he spins in the air and tosses cups, spoons and dishes downwards. His ladle also has a longer reach, extending towards the whole screen.

Chef Kawasaki appears in the game's boss rush mode, The Ultimate Choice, as a part of Mid-Boss All-Stars #2. He appears in seven levels of difficulty (Mild Stroll, Zesty Expedition, Spicy Adventure, Sizzling Threat, Fiery Showdown, Infernal Crisis and Soul Melter).

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
"When they get a taste of this, I'll be the hottest chef in town!"

- Chef Kawasaki

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 anime appearance of the Superspicy Curry in The Hot Shot Chef / A Spice Odyssey, and Ice Kirby with ice cubes in Combat Kirby).

Etymology

 * Kawasaki's name is derived from Kawasaki, a city in Japan. It is famous for its motorcycles. Kawasaki's designer is said to like motorcycles.

Related Quotes
"He'll try to catch Kirby with a spatula and cook him!"

- Enemy Characters

"Chef Kawasaki has a busy schedule, so he's only appearing in this game as a figurine. He rarely uses his frying pan and ladle to do any actual cooking- he finds they actually work better as weapons."

- Chef Kawasaki's figurine description

"This chef goes on the hunt for ingredients beyond the edge of the world! He senses great deliciousness and must control his hunger until his culinary quest is done!"

- Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go! description

"A longtime acquaintance of Kirby's, this sensational chef can use his cooking tools as weapons and even cook up enemies and turn them into food for his friends. Bon appétit!"

- Choose your buddy

Trivia

 * In Kirby Super Star, if Kirby uses the 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 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.
 * Ironically, when Kawasaki cooks food that generally tastes good, his end result tastes bad; in Combat Kirby, however, Kawasaki cooks space food -- a food often considered poor in taste -- and makes it taste good.
 * In the anime, it can be observed that Kawasaki complains a lot, generally when something bad happens to him.
 * Artwork of Kawasaki appears in the Beginner's Beach stage of Flagball, a Battle Mode in Kirby Battle Royale.
 * In Kirby Super Star, the normally digitless Kawasaki gains a thumb when he uses his ladle.
 * In Kirby Star Allies, each Friend/Copy Ability has a corresponding piece of food involved in Kawasaki's Cook Potluck and Supper Party Friend Abilities.
 * In Kirby Star Allies, in the title, file select, and menu screens, Chef Kawasaki can be seen chasing after Birdon and Coo, presumably to cook them.
 * If Kawasaki performs any of his cook moves, a timer will appear dictating how long he has before he can use a cook move again. This timer does not reset if Kawasaki is replaced with another Kawasaki or is changed to a different helper before being changed back.