Traditional versions

This novella has yielded many beautiful miniatures. But many restaurants have also been inspired by the novella, because they were named after Chichibio.April Danielle Weintritt, Culinary Professions in Early Modern Italian Comedy (ProQuest LLC, 2019). This is understandable, as he was a good cook! He was also a man with the ability to counter his master's anger with humor and cleverness. This indicates a cook who, regardless of his social status, can still rely on his intellect.

Normally, the character of the cook was assigned a different role in medieval literature. In most medieval stories, cooks were generally described as evil and were linked to negative medieval stereotypes. In Boccaccio's Decameron, Chichibio initially resembles this stereotype of a simple man of low origins. He does not seem too bright and easily gives in to the charms of his mistress. In addition, he impulsively makes up an excuse and thinks he can mislead his master with a very unlikely explanation. However, in this novella there is a twist in the character of the cook. The cook's cleverness and humor seem to save him from his master's punishment. Chichibio is ultimately praised in this novella for his rhetorical skills, his cleverness and his humor, characteristics previously not often attributed to men of this type of profession.

Moreover, Chichibio is still described in this novella as a cook of low origin, but despite his social status he is given the title: “buon cuoco”, a good cook. This can be seen as the start of the improved image of the character of the cook, where social status fades further into the background and talent comes to the fore. Boccaccio certainly played a role in this attribution of talent and humor to the cook and to the positive development that this character goes through. This is reflected in the character descriptions of chefs in comic stories from, for example, the Renaissance. A connection can also be seen between this new identity of the cook and the documented prosperity of the profession in the following centuries.