The Swedish Chef
The Swedish Chef is the incomprehensible preparer of foodstuffs from The Muppet Show. He first appeared in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence in 1975, with Chinese subtitles for his dialog.
Nearly all Swedish Chef sketches begin with him in a kitchen, waving some utensils while singing his signature song[1] in a trademark mock Swedish, a semi-comprehensible gibberish which parodies the characteristic vowel sounds of Swedish. The last line of the song is always “Børk! Børk! Børk!” and is punctuated by the Chef throwing the utensils over his shoulder to crash into the crockery behind him. (Although the letter “ø” does not exist in Swedish—it is a Danish/Norwegian letter whose Swedish equivalent is “ö”—the Chef’s trademark word is nearly always spelled “Børk.”)
After this introduction, the Chef continues to speak gibberish while preparing a particular recipe. His commentary is spiced with the occasional English word to clue the viewer in to what he is attempting. These clues are necessary as he frequently uses unorthodox culinary equipment (firearms, tennis rackets, etc.) to prepare his dishes. The sketch typically degenerates into a slapstick finale, and he often winds up in pitched battle with his ingredients, from Lobster Banditos to a Japanese Cake. The Swedish Chef has also appeared, at least briefly, in every Muppet film to date. He was put in charge of running the film projector in The Muppet Movie and Muppet*Vision 3D. In A Muppet Family Christmas, he attempts to cook the Christmas turkey, then sets his sights on Big Bird instead.