The album received generally positive response from critics. Ryan Leas in his review for
Stereogum called it as "one of the best soundtrack moments of the month", praising the music for Chef and wrote "Most of the music, accordingly, is a great time — lively Afro-Cuban rhythms and giddy brass bands and
Gary Clark, Jr.’s blues licks serve as markers for the food truck’s three stops of Miami, New Orleans, and Austin, lining up nicely with how each city’s cuisine is represented specifically. Collectively, the whole movie has an air of celebration about it for America’s various inherited sounds and tastes." Joe Leydon of
Variety wrote "the eclectic mix of musical selections chosen by music supervisor Mathieu Schreyer could encourage many ticket buyers to rush home and download the entire soundtrack — but not before they first satiate their stoked appetites." Zeba Blay of
Digital Spy called it as "genuinely wonderful soundtrack full of well-placed classic soul and funk". Writing for
Slate, Dara Stevens opined that the soundtrack was considered as one of the aspects on how
Chef "turned out to be the indie hit of the summer". Linda Barnard of
Toronto Star wrote "A grabby soundtrack (shades of
Swingers fantastic big band tune-work) heavy on soul and Afro-Cuban beats from the likes of
Pete Rodriguez and Perico Hernandez, makes each cooking scene look like a music video." == Track listing ==