You know what every kitchen needs? A Bloonderbooss or a Boomashootn, and Swedish Chef shows us why.
March 16, 2012 9:30 PM   Subscribe

The Swedish Chef (Muppet Wiki) is the incomprehensible preparer of foodstuffs for The Muppet Show. A rather literal variation of the Live-Hand Muppet concept, the Swedish Chef is a humanoid character, with human hands rather than gloves. An annotated list of every televised appearance of the Swedish Chef is after the fold... Børk! Børk! Børk! [Click here to view the thread translated fully into Mock Swedish]

Encheferize your own text here

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Pilot:
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The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence| Sandwich
In a three-a-pert sketch, zee Svedeesh Cheff mekes a sundveech, useeng muny unoosooel ingredeeents. Ifentooelly, zee sundveech spruoots veengs und fleees evey, boot zee cheff shuuts it doon veet a goon. (The name of his program is "Järnvägskorsning" or Railway Crossings in real Swedish)

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Season 1:
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Episode 2| Meatballs
Zee Svedeesh Cheff preperes meetbells, vheech buoonce-a vhee drupped. He-a zeen grebs a tennees recket und svets zee meetbell intu zee oodeeence-a. Stetler fulleys it beck veet a recket ooff hees oovn. "Feeffteee, lufe-a!" seys Veldurff.

Episode 5| Flapjacks
Zee Cheff preperes puncekes, vheech veend up stoock oon zee ceeeling. He-a zeen grebs a goon und shuuts zeem doon.

Episode 11| Spaghetti
Zee speghettee cumes tu leeffe-a und ettecks Zee Svedeesh Cheff.

Episode 14| Doughnuts
Zee Svedeesh Cheff uses a boomåshootn tu shuut a hule-a thruoogh un Ingleesh mooffffeen tu meke-a a duooghnoot.

Episode 15| Spicy Sauce
Zee Svedeesh Cheff's sooce-a is su speecy thet hees het fleees ooffff, geefing zee oodeeence-a a rere-a boot breeeff gleempse-a ooff vhet zee cheff luuks leeke-a veethuoot hees het.

Episode 20| Japanese Cake
Zee Cheff edds creem und frooeet tu a chuculete-a ceke-a, boot es he-a gues tu coot it, zee ceke-a luoodly oobjects...in Jepunese-a! Zee ceke-a is insteed deespetched by a cekenschmuuscher.

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Season 2:
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Episode 1| Fishie Chowder
Zee Svedeesh Cheff ettempts tu meke-a feesh chooder useeng a leefe-a feesh.

Episode 5| Salad, Brussells Sprouts, and Coconut
In a tvu-pert sketch, Zee Svedeesh Cheff shuuts lettooce-a veet a goon, furst creeteeng a seled und zeen Broossells spruoots. Leter, he-a treees tu shuut a cucunoot, boot insteed shuuts a roobber cheeckee und gets heet by a cucunoot.

Episode 8| Talking to Reporter
Svedeesh Cheff tells iferytheeng he-a knoos tu a repurter, deestoorbing Kermeet

Episode 9| Lobster Thermidor
Zee Svedeesh Cheff treees tu bueel a loubster, boot is ettecked by a gruoop ooff lubster bundeetuse, vhu rescooe-a zeeur cumrede-a frum zee pute.

Episode 12| Egg Bomb
Zee Svedeesh Cheff vunts iggs fur hees deesh, boot hees cheeckee leys a bumb.

Episode 14| Ping Pong Ball Eggs
Zee Svedeesh Cheff preperes "igg der cheff," boot hees cheeckee oonly leys der peeng pung bells. Zee Cheff becumes ungry und poorsooes zee hee veet a kleefer; thees becumes a leeterel roonneeng geg thruooghuoot zee rest ooff zee shoo.

Episode 15| Frog Legs
Seence-a Kermeet rooshes zee Svedeesh Cheff oonstege-a (vhee he-a's nut reedy), zee Cheff tekes Rubeen und treees tu prepere-a frug legs.

Episode 16| Salad
Zee Svedeesh Cheff mekes a seled vheele-a Cleu Leeene-a seengs "Yuoo're-a Joost in Lufe-a."

Episode 17| Cow
Zee Cheff peeents oon a reel leefe-a coo tu demercete-a zee deefffferent coots ooff beeff.

Episode 18| Coconut
Zee Cheff hemmers und sevs a cucunoot, tryeeng tu creck it. Vhee he-a feenelly gets it oopee, he-a deescufers a bumb inseede-a it.

Episode 20| Chocolate Moose
Meeckey Muuse-a helps zee Cheff meke-a "chuculete-a muuse-a". Kermeet interroopts thees pley oon vurds.

Episode 21| Pressed Duck
Zee Svedeesh Cheff treees tu use-a zee irun tu press Runeld Doock, vhu grebs it und zeen drups it oon heem und fleees evey.

Episode 24| Popcorn
Zee Svedeesh Peeg mekes pupcurn.

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Season 3:
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Episode 3| Living Dough
Zee Svedeesh Cheff is ettecked by leefing duoogh, vheech heets heem veet hees oovn rulleeng peen. Thees is zee lest Svedeesh Cheff sketch tu teke-a plece-a in zee ooreeginel keetchee set.

Episode 6| Jean Stapleton, Sam the Eagle, Swedish Chef
Jeun refeels tu Sem zee Iegle-a thet zee Svedeesh Cheff duesn't speek reel Svedeesh, boot she-a cun understund heem, becoose-a she-a tuuk a currespundence-a cuoorse-a in muck Svedeesh. Sem inseests thet zee Cheff stert speekeeng hunestly, su frum noo oon he-a egrees tu speek in hees neteefe-a lungooege-a--muck Jepunese-a.

Episode 9| Patient Swedish Chef
Vhet sterts es a Svedeesh Cheff sketch feenishes veet Fetereeneriun's Huspeetel, es zee huspeetel steffff deescufer zee cheff hes a rere-a cese-a ooff in-groon cuffffee-a put.

Episode 10| Onion Cake
Zee Svedeesh Cheff shoos Gledys zee veddeeng ceke-a thet he-a's mede-a. Zee ceke-a is tupped veet feegoores ooff Kermeet und Peeggy es zee gruum und breede-a.

Episode 11| Chicken in the Basket
Zee Svedeesh Cheff throos a cheeckee thruoogh a besketbell huup.

Episode 12| Banana Split
Vheele-a prepereeng a bunanunanuna spleet, zee Svedeesh Cheff is cunteenoouoosly interroopted by Spuneesh duncers. Zee Cheff elsu speeks French iff yuoo cun cetch it

Episode 16| The Chef and his Uncle
Zee Svedeesh Cheff is jueened by hees uncle-a (pleyed by Dånny Kåye), und zeey meke-a a toorkey.

Episode 17| Swedish Chef tells a joke
Svedeesh Cheff tells a heeleriuoos juke-a thet zee oozeer moopets cunnut understund

Episode 23| Swedish Chef Reciting Shakespeare
Veelliem Shekespeere-a is celled upun by Sem zee Iegle-a tu prufeede-a cummentery fur zee shoo thet zee Mooppets ere-a pootteeng oon, Rubeen Huud. It duesn't metter thet zee femuoos pleyreeght ooff zee seme-a neme-a deedn't vreete-a zee femuoos feble-a, thees Shekespeere-a uses zee neme-a oonly es hees nums de-a ploom, und dues nut cleeem tu be-a zee mun vhu Sem beleeefes vrute-a Zee Suoond ooff Mooseec. Despeete-a thees, upun reqooest, he-a recrooeets zee Svedeesh Cheff tu receete-a a purtun ooff Hemlet, effter Sem hes beee inffurmed thet zee mun vhu vrute-a zee vurds is deed.

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Season 4:
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Episode 1| Squirrel Stew
Zee Cheff is oooot in zee vuuds, tryeeng tu meke-a sqoourrel stoo.

Episode 4| Hot Dogs
Zee Cheff preperes hut dugs. Meess Peeggy, vhu is luukeeng fur Fuu Fuu, cumes oon-stege-a, eskeeng zee cheff iff he-a hes seee her dug. Zee Svedeesh Cheff, essoomeeng zee qooery is ebuoot zee veeeners, seys thet zee dug is in zee put, cooseeng Peeggy tu theenk thet zee cheff is cuukeeng Fuu Fuu. Meess Peeggy's kerete-a chup is elsu deffeeted

Episode 5| Turtle Soup
Cheff ettempts tu meke-a toortle-a suoop, boot zee toortle-a keeps poolleeng up intu hees shell vhee zee Cheff is ebuoot tu heck ooffff hees heed. Froostreted, zee Cheff threetens zee uneemel veet a bloonderbooss, oonly tu be-a met veet a duooble-a-berreled meenietoore-a cunun frum veethin zee toortle-a's shell.

Episode 8| Home-Cooked Meal
Zee Cheff pluns a hume-a-cuuked meel, boot zee toorkey reffooses tu be-a skooered, zee peeg boosts heem in zee fece-a, und zee "biff" stempedes oofer heem. Ifee zee fegeteble-a stoo is unsooccessffool. Ifentooelly, zee Cheff unfeeels hees deenner -- feetemin peells.

Episode 12| No Bananas
Zee Cheff seengs "Yes, Ve-a Hefe-a Nu Bununes" veet zee Seenging Fuud.

Episode 13| Poisoned Food
Fuzzeee-a soospects zee Cheff ooff pueesuning zee heleeboot eleebi vheele-a ecteeng es zee Beer oon Petrul.

Episode 20| Milk Shake
Sveedeesh Cheff preperes a Meelk Sheke-a fur Elun Erkeen et zee begeening ooff zee Shoo.

Episode 23| Meat Loafers
Zee cheff poots meet intu a shue-a. Zee oovner ooff zee shue-a, a peeg, demunds tu hefe-a hees shue-a beck, und poots it oon, despeete-a zee fect thet zeere-a is meet in it. He-a zeen gets chesed by dugs.

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Season 5:
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Episode 7| Eric the Parrot
Ireec zee Perrut seengs und dunces tu Ceruleena in zee Murneeng vheele-a Zee Svedeesh Cheff treees tu cetch heem

Episode 8| Swedish Lump Bread Puppetry
Zee Svedeesh Cheff mekes a pooppet useeng hees hunds und sume-a breed duoogh es he-a seengs "Zeese-a Buuts Ere-a Mede-a fur Velkeen'" in hees neteefe-a tungooe-a.

Episode 12| Spring Chickens
Zee Cheff mekes spreeng cheeckens, vheech spreeng oooot ooff cuntrul. Thees is zee oonly Svedeesh Cheff sketch vhere-a Zee Unnuooncer intrudooces zee ect.

Episode 14| Soup
Zee Svedeesh Cheff preperes suoop, boot gets interroopted by moolteeple-a Beekers. (Previously)

Episode 22| Lighter than Air Soufflé
Zee Svedeesh Cheff preperes a leeghter thun eur suoophlé.

Episode 23| Champagne
Zee Cheff gues flyeeng vhee he-a pups a buttle-a ooff chempegne-a.

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The Jim Henson Hour:
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Episode 7| Cake
Zee Svedeesh Cheff ettempts tu meke-a a ceke-a, boot is interroopted by Jeqooes Ruech, vhu ixpleeens thet rueches ere-a indestroocteble-a becoose-a ooff zeeur ieteeng hebeets. Thees is prufee vhee zee cheff unsooccessffoolly treees tu get reed ooff jeqooes by keetting heem, druppeeng a reffreedgeretur oon heem, und ifee bloo heem up.

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Movies:
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The Muppets at Walt Disney World| Tacos
Zee Cheff preperes a tecu fur Boonsee und Beeker, vheech is su hut thet it bloos zee peeel thet hes beee stoock oon Beeker's heed cleer ooffff... und beck oon egeeen. Zee cluseeng fur hees oopeneeng sung is "Olé" insteed ooff zee usooel "Børk, børk, børk!" (Previously)

A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa| Swedie Pizza
Zee Svedeesh Cheff preperes a "Svedeee-a Peezza" fur tvu gooys in un Iteleeun restroorunt. Zeey reeleeze-a zee Cheff is nut Iteleeun und yell et heem tu gu evey, und he-a roons ooffff ("Oooky!Oooky!Oooky!"). Oone-a ooff zee gooys remerks thet it duesn't luuk thet bed und thet meybe-a zeey shuoold try it.

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Other:
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Europe MTV Music Awards| Chef and Wyclef Jean perform on stage at the Europe MTV Music Awards on November 16, 2000 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Muppet viral videos| Cårven Der Pümpkîn
Zee Svedeesh Cheff ettempts tu meke-a jeck-oo-lunterns oooot ooff tvu telkeeng poompkeens fur Hellooeee. Zee poompkeens zeen sooggest thet he-a use-a meescelluneuoos items thet vuoold nut nurmelly be-a used (i.i. a bettle-a exe-a, a cheeensev, und a bezuuka). Effter he-a gets oooot zee bezuuka, zee poompkeens get blested intu tvu poompkeen peees, vheech zee Cheff teetles "der pümpkîn peee-a a la bezuukeee-a", reeght beffure-a pesseeng oooot frum zee ixpluseeun. Thees is zeen fullooed by a leettle-a heckleeng frum Stetler und Veldurff vhu hefe-a beee vetcheeng zee cleep oon zeeur cumpooter.

Muppet viral videos| Pöpcørn
Zee Svedeesh Cheff preperes pupcurn shreemp tu zee toone-a ooff Hut Bootter's "Pupcurn." Zee feedeu elsu prufeedes cepshuns, elthuoogh zee cepshun vreeter edmeets thet zeey hefe-a nu idea vhet zee cheff is seyeeng; zeey joost try tu vreete-a it phuneteecelly, vheech ifee zee vreeter cun't spell. (Previously)

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Chef's Musical Career:
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Ringing of the Bells
Danny Boy
Happy Birthday
Habanera
Bohemian Rhapsody
Stars & Stripes FOREVER!
Heavy Metal

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Fan Made Homage:
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Birthday Cake
Pizza
Goldfish Soup
Fruit Dish
Breakfast Bowl
Turkey Stew

Andy Samberg on SNL

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Comic Books
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Meet the Muppets| Because evryone is trying to cheer Kermit up, Robin tries to get the Chef to make Lily Pad Goulash. The Chef fails to understand him and thinks he wants Frogs' Legs Goulash, then takes Robin to make the dish. Onstage, Robin talks the Chef into stopping, and leaves.

The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson| Because the Chef is making onion soup at the same time that a toast-hurdling contest is happening, toast flies out of the pot as soon as the recipe is complete.

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Trivia:
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-According to Brian Henson in one of his introductions for The Muppet Show, "Jim Henson had this tape that he used to play which was 'How to Speak Mock Swedish'. And he used to drive to work and I used to ride with him a lot. And he would drive to work trying to make a chicken sandwich in Mock Swedish or make a turkey casserole in Mock Swedish. It was the most ridiculous thing you had ever seen. And people at traffic lights used to stop and sort of look at him a little crazy. But that was the roots of the character that would eventually become the Swedish Chef". Jim Henson had previously explored the idea of a funny foreign chef at the US Food Fair that took place in Hamburg, Germany in 1961, where Sam and Friends character Omar prepared a flaming salad while speaking in some quite comprehensible mock German that Henson and Jerry Juhl had previously scribbled down in phonetics."

-Cröonchy Stars was a breakfast cereal by Post Cereals of North America. The cereal was released in 1988, and discontinued about a year later, though it made a brief return in 1992. The box featured the Swedish Chef from The Muppet Show, who described the cereal as "cinnamonnamony". The product's name is likely a pseudo-phonetic rendition of how the Chef would pronounce "crunchy." The back of the box featured ridiculous, and sometimes unsolvable, games and puzzles, including a memory-type card game on every box.

-There was a Swedish Chef sketch that was taped but not broadcast, in which the Chef prepared ratatouille.

-From the appearance of a ring, the Chef seems to have gotten married as early as 2006

-The Swedish Chef's song has been construed as a "scathing editorial" against former Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork by Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report.

-Opera Software once retaliated against the MSN intentionally breaking its website for Opera users by translating the fixed site into ChefSpeak
posted by Blasdelb (45 comments total) 170 users marked this as a favorite
 
And you thought you were going to get something done today
posted by Blasdelb at 9:31 PM on March 16, 2012 [7 favorites]


Unda youa taught youa gettin sumtin doontaday.

Bork bork bork
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 9:35 PM on March 16, 2012 [6 favorites]




This missing all of the Chef's appearences in Muppet Magazine. HA!
posted by JHarris at 9:37 PM on March 16, 2012


Holy mother of God, Blasdelb: you are awesome. Thanks for this.

I mean, Borken-tancs de fur de yooo.. or something.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:47 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


A moment of silence for the late and much beloved Cröonchy Stars plz.
posted by elizardbits at 9:48 PM on March 16, 2012


That link to view this thread in Mock Swedish? You, um, borked it.
posted by benito.strauss at 9:51 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


Dee Bork: I haf beene eeseemelateden.
posted by ShutterBun at 9:57 PM on March 16, 2012


YINDISH VERDI HERDI VERSHKEY FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!!!

er, that is to say, no mention of the Chef's catering of Fozziwig's Christmas party in the extremely underrated classic A Muppet Christmas Carol? for shame.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 10:00 PM on March 16, 2012 [2 favorites]


Side note: most keyword tags ever?
posted by ShutterBun at 10:05 PM on March 16, 2012


An annotated list of every televised appearance of the Swedish Chef is after the fold ...

After the fjord? Or maybe after the fjärd (for Baltic waterbodies.)
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:19 PM on March 16, 2012


I theenk thees oone-a veell meke-a it tu zee pudcest. Um de hur de hur de hur.
posted by maudlin at 10:41 PM on March 16, 2012


Cröonchy Stars was a breakfast cereal by Post Cereals of North America. The cereal was released in 1988, and discontinued about a year later, though it made a brief return in 1992.

Huh. I do not remember that cereal at all, and I would have been their key demo. I can only assume it was Post's answer to General Mills' Pro Stars -- the Wayne Gretzky cereal. I remember that one.

Then again, I grew up in Canada, where hockey is a bit of a thing, and Wayne Gretzky circa 1988 was the God we were forced to pray to every morning in our public schools. I'm sure there were a lot of markets in the US that did not have sufficient youth-oriented star-shaped breakfast cereal saturation back then, before there were Sharks and Lightning and Mighty Ducks and whatnot.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:31 PM on March 16, 2012


I remember... I remember being a little boy.

Sitting in my father's lap, next to my brother.

Laughing hysterically...

Thinking of how wonderfully silly our world was...

So long ago...

I could have done without the intervening six years...

The best of my life were when I was just a pup... enamored with this world...

Being an adult has been... less than forgiving.

Thank you so very much, Blasdelb.

Thank you so much for past joys rekindled.

I remember...
posted by PROD_TPSL at 12:39 AM on March 17, 2012 [4 favorites]


I enjoyed reading this post in Cockney.
posted by book 'em dano at 1:02 AM on March 17, 2012


Pöpcørn is a masterpiece of silliness !
posted by Abinadab at 1:09 AM on March 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


I opened about 5 (autoplaying) Youtube links at once. Best described as surreal.

(thanks for this! It ers amazinoon a-har-har-har-har!)
posted by kagredon at 1:34 AM on March 17, 2012


This post is awesome.

No borkborkbork tag though?
posted by Avelwood at 2:07 AM on March 17, 2012 [2 favorites]


If I remember the various interviews I've read correctly, the Swedish Chef had its origins in a gag Jim Henson pulled out for his family sometimes at Thanksgiving while carving the turkey. Just like that, a silly family joke became one of the most iconic Muppet characters there is. Some people are just born with way beyond the average amount of creativity.
posted by JHarris at 2:25 AM on March 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


This is probably the greatest post ever. Bork Bork Bork!
posted by Renoroc at 4:17 AM on March 17, 2012


If I remember the various interviews I've read correctly, the Swedish Chef had its origins in a gag Jim Henson pulled out for his family sometimes at Thanksgiving while carving the turkey.

You're getting your stories mixed up. When performing typical "dad" tasks like carving the Thanksgiving turkey, Jim Henson liked to assume a deep, dopey, masculine voice that later became Link Hogthrob.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:54 AM on March 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


It's full of tags!!!
posted by Pendragon at 5:10 AM on March 17, 2012 [2 favorites]


Then again, I grew up in Canada, where hockey is a bit of a thing, and Wayne Gretzky circa 1988 was the God we were forced to pray to every morning in our public schools

As a fellow Canadian child of the 80's, (and avid muppet-watcher) this is not an exaggeration.
posted by bquarters at 6:08 AM on March 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


I started to read this post thru the "translated" link.

Had to stop because I couldn't read thru the laugh tears in my eyes. ESP since I was reading it out loud to my kids. Thank you for this great post
posted by ShawnString at 6:14 AM on March 17, 2012


Also these videos are too much. I've got two down and I didn't even like the swedish chef that much at the time. Cannot spend whole day watching these then pigs in space etc etc etc!
posted by bquarters at 6:15 AM on March 17, 2012


This is the kind of scrupulous and scholarly care that used to be -- and still, in some quarters, is -- devoted to the study and distillation of religious materials.

Which is to say, it's progress.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 6:17 AM on March 17, 2012 [5 favorites]


Ah, now that I think about it you're right FoB. My mistake.
posted by JHarris at 7:12 AM on March 17, 2012


So happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bork bork bork!
posted by inturnaround at 7:24 AM on March 17, 2012


Incidentally, the instructions might be obscured by the encheferization, but make sure you turn on closed captioning (the CC button), especially for the Pöpcørn viral video towards the end.
posted by Blasdelb at 7:27 AM on March 17, 2012


Urban legend has it that if you say "Bork!" three times while looking in the mirror you become the Swedish Chef.
posted by greenland at 8:27 AM on March 17, 2012 [3 favorites]


God fucking damnit...I was going to try and be productive today.

Fine, I'll watch your damn links for the next several hours, you magnificent bastard.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:01 AM on March 17, 2012


Wow. So, somehow while reading this post, I discovered that the Muppet Wiki is staggeringly comprehensive. It's like a version of Wikipedia that can only refer to sources that are directly muppet-related. For instance, check out their ridiculously detailed article about China, as known through the eyes of the Muppets.

Good job, Internet. It's been a rough few weeks, and this post made my day. Thanks Blasdelb.
posted by schmod at 9:37 AM on March 17, 2012


It's like a version of Wikipedia that can only refer to sources that are directly muppet-related.

I don't want to completely destroy any and all future productivity, but there's a hojillion of "directly [X]-related" wikis out there. There's two absolutely enormous ones for the Star Wars (Wookiepedia) and Star Trek (Memory Alpha) 'verses, and a ton for games (The Half Life/Portal/TF2 Combine OverWiki is overflowing with info) and whatever other nerdery you want to get into. And those are just the ones using the Wikipedia-owned platforms. There are others like TV Tropes, which if you haven't already discovered it, you should prepare to lose entire days to the siren's call.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:58 AM on March 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


The Chef is also responsible for one of the best comments ever made on Metafilter.
posted by jbickers at 10:26 AM on March 17, 2012 [5 favorites]


jag fattar inte
posted by springload at 10:51 AM on March 17, 2012 [2 favorites]


My college had a lot of Swedish students -- and I befriended some, of course, because I like friends!

One time I asked my friend Anna about the Swedish Chef, and what he was called in Sweden. I kinda figured he'd be assigned another nationality. But in Sweden, he's just "The Chef".


I could be conflating this part in my head with something made up, but I seem to vaguely remember that it came about when she was speaking Swedish and I made a good natured "Bork bork bork" joke, and she was kinda confused. Which would make sense, since if he was just The Chef, the link between Sweden and "Bork" wouldn't be there.

...I can only assume the Swedish Swedish Chef still said "Bork". If not, that's a crime and a tragedy all in one.
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 11:52 AM on March 17, 2012 [2 favorites]


Does anyone have a favorite Muppets sketch that hasn't been covered so far? These take a lot to put together and it will likely be a while before I do it again, but I'll be happy to take input on whats next.
posted by Blasdelb at 3:20 PM on March 17, 2012


Still the best TV chef, and the best commentary on TV chefs, ever.
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:38 PM on March 17, 2012


For years I never noticed that the Swedish Chef had human hands. It was to my horror that I realized it later in my childhood. I have since gotten over it, but when I think about it, it still creeps me out a bit. No fault to him or the Muppets or Jim Henson, of course.
posted by jabberjaw at 3:46 PM on March 17, 2012


I'm descended from Swedes and The Swedish Chef could be any number of my relatives at a family gathering. The only way I can really tell the difference is my mom is less endowed in the eyebrow department.

See also: Regular Ordinary Swedish Meal Time, which is like every family meal I've ever had. Though most of our slapping was merely implied.
posted by sonika at 4:14 PM on March 17, 2012 [5 favorites]


A propos of not much, I just watched Being Elmo tonight. Every Muppet fan should watch this. Kevin Clash is the greatest of the second-generation Muppeteers.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:32 PM on March 17, 2012


Recently a probably myth has been going around that Lars "Kuprik" Bäckman is the inspiration for the Swedish chef as he is Swedish, and managed to mess up a TV-cooking show by mumbling to himself in dalmål on camera as he cooked. To see how dalecarlia dialects differs from regular Swedish, check this guide out. Jerry Juhl denies this inspiration story though.
posted by dabitch at 2:25 AM on March 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


Does anyone have a favorite Muppets sketch that hasn't been covered so far?

Well if you're the one doing the work....

Anything to do with the planet Koozebane
Veterinarian's Hospital ("where the quacks have gone to the dogs")
The many one-off Muppet bits set to music (like Mahna-Mahna, Hugga-Wugga, You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd, A New Sound, etc.)
Sesame Street: Muppet News Flashes, Ernie & Bert, Super Grover, Grover the Waiter and Mr. Johnson, scenes where Muppets interact with real kids, things involving old/obsolete/forgotten Muppet characters like Roosevelt Franklin, Biff & Sully, Sam the Robot, Herry the monster, Guy Smiley, The Amazing Mumford (I named a D&D character after him once), Harvey Kneeslaper, Sherlock Hemlock, etc. Really, anything with Muppets on Sesame Street.
posted by JHarris at 4:51 AM on March 18, 2012


...mumbling to himself in dalmål ....

Holy Heck, Swedish has dialects! And that one sounds much more like the Nebraska farmers I come from than any other Swedish I've heard before.
posted by benito.strauss at 8:41 AM on March 18, 2012


We have over a hundred crazy dialects, click on an area, example Arjeplog, and then choose your speaker (äldre kvinna, äldre man, or yngre (younger) from each gender. Then you'll find an mp3 and wav file of them speaking.
posted by dabitch at 10:53 AM on March 18, 2012


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