Antagonists Wiki
Advertisement
[[Image:|300px]]
Chef Saltbaker
Background information
Feature films
Television programs
Video games Cuphead
Park attractions
Actor
Actress
Animators
Voice
Performance model
Designer
Inspiration
Awards
Character information
Other names
Personality
Appearance
Occupation
Affiliations
Goal Defeat Cuphead, Mugman, Ms. Chalice
Obtain complete control of the astral plane
Home
Friends
Enemies Cuphead, Mugman, Ms. Chalice, Esther Winchester, The Howling Aces, Glumstone the Giant, Mortimer Freeze, Moonshine Mob
Minions animal cookies, pepper shakers
Likes
Dislikes
Powers and abilities growth, animal cookies, pepper shakers, salt tornadoes, making salt versions of self
Weapons
Fate
Quote

Chef Saltbaker is the main villain of the Cuphead DLC The Delicious Last Course.

Appearance[]

Chef Saltbaker is an anthropomorphic salt shaker. He has a pointy nose and wears a chef's uniform, including a traditional white jacket with red-trimmed sleeves, and a red ascot around his neck. In addition, his metal cap (which has holes to pour salt from on it) resembles a toque blanche. During his Boss fight, he's shown to have sinister yellow eyes.

Personality[]

Though seemingly a jolly individual willing to help bring Ms. Chalice to life, Chef Saltbaker is in actuality a Machiavellian and cutthroat individual, as he was willing to sacrifice a soul to create the Wondertart in his quest to take over and rule the astral plane. This degree of callousness is further shown in his boss battle, where he pitilessly maims the living ingredients gathered by Cuphead in order to fight against the players. However, by the end of the DLC, he's shown to be thoroughly humbled by his defeat, and after doing community service for the other five bosses in the DLC, he's shown to be much more benevolent and generous.

Story[]

Chef Saltbaker is first seen in-game in his bakery after Ms. Chalice introduces Cuphead and Mugman to him. Saltbaker then reveals plans to make the Wondertart, where one bite of the tart allows Ms. Chalice to become alive without the use of switching bodies with someone else. Chef Saltbaker then allows the three to fight bosses to collect the ingredients needed for the Wondertart and mentions the most important ingredient is heart and soul.

However, after the players has beaten all the bosses, he isn't seen in his usual spot, and it is revealed that there is a basement under the bakery where Chef Saltbaker has a secret laboratory. That is where he was found working on the Wondertart, where it is revealed that a literal soul must be added as the secret ingredient and prepares to engage a battle against the remaining characters to rule over the astral plane. However, he is eventually defeated, and his bakery is destroyed because of the commotion they have caused.

After the events of the battle, Chef Saltbaker is arrested for his actions, and was sentenced to community service, where he was forced to work for the previous bosses that were fought. He is eventually reformed and rebuilds his bakery, making pastries for all the residents on Inkwell Isle 4, which also restores his friendship with the heroes.

Battle[]

Intro[]

Chef Saltbaker exercises his hands, pulls his neckerchief and pushes away some pre-ready ingredient, which can be some sugar cubes or cut limes. A flame also appears at the top of the screen.

Phase 1[]

Marinate in your defeat while I complete this astral treat!
~ Phase 1 Death Screen

Chef Saltbaker has four different attacks based on the ingredients collected throughout the game:

  • Chef Saltbaker pulls out a gigantic version of the Icy Sugar Cubes with a chef hat with the word "SUGAR" on it, pushes the hat away and hits it with a hammer and a stake to break it into smaller pieces, levitates some with his magic then they are blown away. Five pieces travel from the side where they are pushed off-screen to the other in a wave pattern. Some sugar cubes can be parried. In Expert Mode, there are eight sugar cubes and they appear more rapidly.
  • Chef Saltbaker brings up and slices up a group of Desert Limes and push the slices away. Four slices appear on the side where they are pushed off-screen to the other end, then boomerang back. If they are higher when they appear, they boomerang lower and vice versa. In Expert Mode, there are five lime slices.
  • Chef Saltbaker conjures a roller and flattens the Distillery Dough that comes in. He uses some cookie cutters to cut out some animal-shaped cookies and uses some of his magic to bring them to life. Six cookies bounce from the side to the where they are levitated off-screen to the other side. They can be defeated. In Expert Mode, there are eight cookies and they appear more rapidly.
  • A basket of Gnome Berries runs across the background. Chef Saltbaker squishes it and causes all the strawberries to fly off-screen and make them cry. 12 berries rain down to the left. In Expert Mode, there are 16 berries.

The flame on the top occasionally jumps down and aims at the players. In Expert Mode, there will be two flames alternating between each jump and at a faster rate.

Upon losing enough health, he will slam the table and put a mushroom inside of him to grow, picking up the player with his hands. Hitpoints = 600/680

Phase 2[]

My power grows with much aplomb! Your end is here, upon my palm!
~ Phase 2 Death Screen

After growing and capturing the player(s) in the palm of his hand, his body is already slightly cracked and he laughs at the players.

Chef Saltbaker summons four pepper shakers on the corners of the screen. The pepper shakers sneeze peppercorn projectiles, some of which can be parried. They can be defeated to launch them at the giant chef and damage him, dealing exactly 47 hitpoints of damage.

Chef Saltbaker will pull out some Pineapple Mint leaves, throw them up and sprinkle them on the player(s), there are three or four leaves falling from the ceiling swing from side to side. In Expert Mode, three to five leaves fall from the ceiling.

A flame jumps up toward the player(s), like in Phase 1. However it stays on the palm of Chef Saltbaker and can be a constant hazard to the player(s). In Expert Mode, there are still two flames.

After enough damage is done to Saltbaker, his glass body breaks and releases a massive amount of salt in a white flash. Hitpoints = 540/629

Phase 3[]

Your futile efforts were in vain, this world will be my salt domain.
~ Phase 3 Death Screen

During this phase, Chef Saltbaker in the background claps his hand made of salt together and creates two dancing salt clones who bounce along the screen while a sawblade slides along the floor. In Expert Mode, there will be two sawblades and the clone bounces more rapidly with higher gravity. Hitpoints = 135/136

Phase 4[]

The mark of my salinity shall scar thy fired glaze!
~ Phase 4 Death Screen

After Saltbaker rises back up from the pile of salt in the background, he turns into a tornado of salt with multiple faces that slowly close in and glass platforms fall from the top to the bottom. The player(s) must shoot his heart to damage him, which is also can be parried when pink. In Expert Mode, he moves faster.

After he is defeated, causing the salt tornadoes to start to break apart and yell in pain as his heart stretches about. Hitpoints = 225/255

Trivia[]

  • His name is a portmanteau of "saltshaker" and "baker" (the latter word referencing the chef's uniform he wears).
  • The only ingredient he doesn't use to try and attack you with in Phase 1 is the Pineapple Mint. He only uses it in the second phase.
  • Similar to Beppi The Clown and multitude of bosses, Chef Saltbaker can get stuck at a phase and could not transition. Currently the cause is unknown. Sometimes after he finishes an attack in Phase 1, he will not attack any more and stay in place with the only hazard left is the jumping flame. After enough damage the transition from Phase 2 to 3 will play and causes Chef Saltbaker to change into a different animation but his hitbox will continue to be active until he is defeated.
  • In Cuphead: Cartoon Chronicles & Calamities, he states that the secret ingredient to make his goods taste good is salt.
  • in the sense that he is using it, the term “Aplomb” refers to self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a demanding situation. In this case, it refers to Chef Saltbaker’s determination and obsession with consuming the Wondertart to rule over the astral plane.
  • In his third phase, the sawblades travelling through the ground may be inspired by the unused Bothersome Blueberry from Goopy Le Grande, with the salt clones bouncing around mimicking Goopy.

Inspirations and similarities[]

  • Saltbaker's face when he revealed his true colors is an uncanny reference to the infamous shot of the Coachman's maliciously-grinning face from the 1940 Disney film Pinocchio (similar to King Dice).
    • However, due to his final boss status, Saltbaker sports malicious yellow eyes as the main villain of Bandai Namco's Tekken Tag Tournament series, Unknown, instead of Coachman's malicious green eyes, which King Dice inherited in his boss fight.
  • His arms and hands resemble those of Popeye.
  • When transitioning into the second phase, Chef Saltbaker uses a glowing pink and white-spotted mushroom to grow in size. This is likely a reference to the Super Mushroom from the Super Mario franchise, which enlarges and strengthens characters that touch it.
  • His Death Quote in Phase 4 ("The mark of my salinity shall scar thy fired glaze!") is a reference to Street Fighter III, in which main villain Gill says "The mark of my dignity shall scar thy DNA" before his boss fight (Quote was mistranslated as "dignity" instead of "divinity" as Gill was a God-like being).
  • The salt clones in the third phase bares resemblance to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.
  • In Phase 4, the aspect of jumping on the platforms that move down resembles Icy Tower, an indie game made in 2001 by Free Lunch Design.

External Links[]

Advertisement