Hopschef
Ja! I am HOPSCHEF!
Hopschef, Chapter 5
Hopschef (JP: ホップシェフ Hopchef) is a minor Darkner that appears in the Garden in Chapter 5 of Deltarune.
Hopschef appears to be a parallel of Top Chef. Hopschef has a spiny, green face resembling hop flowers, with a thick, black mustache and eyebrows. They wear a pale yellow apron around their waist and a yellow toque. They can be seen constantly doing jumping jacks.
Hopschef is prideful in their craft. They seem confident, having prepared in advance for the destruction of their bread and challenging the party. While they act emotional when bested, they are still grateful to the party for healing their cake and offer them TreeCake and a challenge at any time.
Hopschef speaks a parodic mix of English and German (also known as "Denglisch"), sometimes phonetically spelling them (like spelling Freude, German for "delight", as "FROIDER"), or using Germanic-sounding nonsense English words such as "BREAKENSMASHEN" and "JUMPENTHINGER". In Japanese, Hopschef often ends sentences with "ッヒ".
The name "Hopschef" is a pun on both hop plants and the act of hopping. It also sounds similar to Top Chef's name.
Hopschef is encountered in the Garden, to the right of the first room with scissors in the overworld. They are found next to a large sourdough bread they are very proud of. If this bread is watered by bringing the watering can to this room, a tiny flower blooms on top of it.
Later, when the party has acquired the Petal Feather, Kris can hit the sourdough bread to destroy it if the party is platforming in its room. Hopschef then initiates a minigame where Kris must attack and destroy 10 pieces of dough within 20 seconds using blue and yellow flowers. If Kris fails the challenge, the bread will be "BROT back to life" and Kris is free to reattempt it. If this challenge is beaten, Ralsei will heal the bread into a TreeCake, and Hopschef awards the party a piece. Much like the SpinCake, only one TreeCake piece can be obtained at a time, though it may be obtained repeatedly.
The minigame remains playable after this. Any later attempts will have Hopschef give out Flowery Dollars depending on the performance, with the maximum amount being given if beaten under 8 seconds. Hopschef also has unique dialogue for beating the minigame in under 5 seconds.
- Hopschef having a German accent may reference the fact that the first documented records of hop cultivation were found in regions of present-day Germany.
- The minigame that is unlocked after destroying the sourdough is likely a reference to the minigame Break the Targets! from the Super Smash Bros. series.
- Hopschef exclaiming "YIPPEE!" may be a reference to a popular video in which a German boy does the same.