“Why did the chef take his own life?”/“Because he lost the huile d’olive.”
“Huile d’olive” (French for “olive oil”) sounds like “will to live,” prompting the joke:
Q: Why did the chef take his own life?
A: Because he lost huile d’olive.
The joke has been cited in print since at least 2008.
Twitter
Ted Brandt
@ten_bandits
Giles Coren joke: why did the French chef commit suicide? He lost the huile d’olive.
2:39 PM - 16 Nov 2008
Drowned in Sound
Why did the French chef commit suicide?
EustaceHPlimsoll 16:46, 19 December ‘08
because he’s lost his huile d’olive!
Twitter
AdamWestbrook
@AdamWestbrook
Why did the French chef kill himself? Because he lost huile d’olive. Goodnight!
4:47 PM - 12 Jan 2009
Facebook
Third Year Abroad
November 3, 2010 ·
Why did the French chef commit suicide? Because he lost the huile d’olive…
ProZ
Bilingual joke - EN FR
veratek
Jan 21, 2011
Apparently from an English newspaper:
Why did the chef take his own life?
Because he lost the huille d’olive.
Twitter
Ben Moore-Bridger
@benm_b
@BrockleyMarket Why did the chef jump off a bridge?...Because he lost l’huile d’olive!!
10:47 AM - 20 Oct 2011
Twitter
Dan Hetherton
@danhetherton
Why did the chef kill himself? Because he lost the huil d’olive…
6:04 AM - 6 Jul 2012
reddit
Why did the French chef commit suicide? (self.Jokes)
submitted January 1, 2013 by peter_j_
He lost the huile d’olive
Twitter
MFL Dept @ HHS
@HHS_MFL_Dept
FRENCH JOKE: Q: Why did the chef take his own life? A: Because he lost the huile d’olive…
4:16 PM - 16 Apr 2013
reddit
Why did the French chef commit suicide? (self.Jokes)
submitted August 15, 2013 by Xqwzt
Because he lost the huile d’olive.
Twitter
chantal perez
@chantal_perez
Why did the Chef kill himself?
Because he lost his huile d’olive! #BilingualJokes #FrenchJokes #MFL
9:53 AM - 15 Jun 2015