“A chef is a man with a big enough vocabulary to give the soup a different name every day”

“A chef is a man with a big enough vocabulary to give the soup a different name every day” is a jocular definition of a chef and a simplistic explanation of soup. The joke was printed in The Evening Star (Washington, DC) on June 24, 1912.
 
   
Chronicling America
24 June 1912, The Evening Star (Washington, DC), pg. 6, col. 3:
A Question of Title.
“After another season,” said Farmer Corntossel, “I guess we’ll have a chef.”
 
“What’s a chef?” asked his wife.
 
“A chef is a man with a big enough vocabulary to give the soup a different name every day.”
 
Google Books
The Literary Digest
Volume 120, Part 1
1935
Pg. 84:
“A chef is a man with a big enough vocabulary to give the soup a different name every day.” — Washington Evening Star.
     
Google Books
14,000 Quips & Quotes:
For Speakers, Writers, Editors, Preachers, and Teachers
By E. C. McKenzie
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House
1990, ©1980
Pg. 184:
A chef is a man with a big enough vocabulary to give the soup a different name every day.
   
Google Books
More God’s Abundance:
Joyful Devotions for Every Season
By Kathy C. Miller
Lancaster, PA: Starburst Publishers
1999
Pg. 258:
Remember, a chef is a person with a big enough vocabulary to give soup a different name every day, so when you serve this dish to your family, be creative.
 
Twitter
Gisnap‏
@Gisnap
A good cook is smart enough to give the same soup a different name every time.
12:04 PM - 17 Oct 2008
 
Twitter
Peter Barmes‏
@baker464
“A chef is a man with a big enough vocabulary to give the soup a different name every day.”
2:05 PM - 5 Jan 2011
 
Twitter
Rick Brutti‏
@Rbrutti
Chef: A man with a big enough vocabulary to give the soup a different name every day.
4:54 PM - 12 Sep 2015