Big Chef by Microgaming

The company has a poker network (MPN), which coincidentally happens to be the longest-running network in the world since its launch in 2003. Offering 24/7 action, bonuses, side games, and tournaments, this is the place to be if you love poker. Microgaming also runs a bingo platform complete with a full chat function that allows players to converse with each other.

TIP: In May 2009, the largest casino win via a progressive slot, Mega Moolah, was recorded with a massive €6,374,434 being won.

Gourmet Gaming

Launched in May 2015, Big Chef offers casino gamers an insight into the intriguing world of professional chefs, who are constantly under pressure to create succulent dishes and keep customers coming back for more.

It is this food-related online slot that will make you feel hungry despite your best efforts to ignore the tempting array on offer. It revolves around the day to day activities in a posh French restaurant. It has two separate bonus features so feel free to peruse the following review to find out how it all works.

Big Chef is a five-reel slot with three rows and fifteen fixed paylines; the purple lights of a kitchen illuminate the background and the reels themselves spin inside a giant menu. Cheesy French music provides a slightly annoying ambiance.

All the symbols are related to the theme and are either employees – the chef, a female chef, a waiter, a kitchen hand – or meals including crab, a steak, chicken, and soup.

Paytable Explained

Click on the upward arrows icon within Bet to reveal Coin Size and Coins boxes, which are used to determine the size of your total wager. Select between 0.01, 0.02, and 0.05-coin sizes and stake anywhere from 1 to 10 coins before pressing Spin or Auto Play. You can also click on Max Bet to wager 7.50 per single spin of the reels. Even if the game offers quite a few chances to drive up your earnings, the baseline payouts can be quite impressive as well. The Return to Player ratio or RTP of this Microgaming release is 95%.

Special Icons

• Big Chef boasts a Free Spins feature unlike no other. The trigger for this is in the first instance is the Cloche (you know, that classic silver serving tray that posh restaurants have), and when this appears on reel 5 you are in business as this earns an instant free spin.
• But it is the scatter symbol, the Menu, that triggers the big gifts. Although these can’t be re-triggered, there is still plenty of chance to accumulate decent prizes, nonetheless.
• We really like the Wild symbol here as well, which is the Big Chef logo. When this appears, it will rise upwards on its reel like a batch of freshly baked bread and should this reach the top row it will be held in place for your next spin, too. This process will continue until no more contributing wilds are left.

Regular Symbols

• It is the “human” characters in the Big Chef slot game that pay the most handsome rewards. But to kick things off we have the various dishes that this restaurant serves up for its customers. In an unusual take on the generic formula, we’re going to start with dessert – Crème Brulee to be precise – which pays 0.02 for matching three, 0.20 for four, and 1.00 for five from a 0.15 stake.
• Then we are into the starters, and a rather hearty Soup will warm your cockles with its returns of 0.05, 0.30, and 1.00 for three, four, and five respectively.
• There are three main dishes that diners can sink their teeth into here in Big Chef’s restaurant. There’s the succulent Roast Chicken, which alongside delivering some much-needed protein also pays at the rate of 0.05, 0.30 and 1.50, while the juicy Steak looks like it’s been cooked just how you like it and returns generous helpings of 0.10 for a treble, 0.50 for a quadruple and 1.50 for the full quintuple.
• And finally, for a taste of opulence, why not try the tasty Lobster; this pays at the sophisticated rate of 0.10, 0.50 and 2.00.
• But as mentioned, it is not the food that is the main star of Big Chef but the people who put it on your plate. The lowly Pot Washer, for example, hands out prizes of 0.30, 0.75, and 4.00, while the helpful Waiter not only delivers your meal in a timely fashion but also payouts of 0.30, 1.00, and 5.00.
• Last, but by no means least, are the two people responsible for producing such finger-licking cuisine. The Sous Chef has cooked up payouts of 0.40, 1.20, and 6.00, while the Head Chef – when not busy on the hobs – states your appetites for prizes with 0.40, 1.50, and 8.00 respectively.

Bonuses and Additional Winning Possibilities

Big Chef introduces a new feature in the Base Game Free Spins feature – look for the Cloche scatter symbol on reel 5, as this will grant you an instant free spin. Look out for a wild symbol as this will rise upwards to the row above on each spin thus creating an upwards trail. It if reaches the top row, the wilds will hold for the next spin. This carries on until there are no more contributing wild symbols on the reels.

This is known as the Rising Wilds feature which also applies in the Free Spins feature – this can be triggered when 3 or more Menu scatter symbols appear on the reels. You will be granted 10 free spins with a 2x multiplier. If a wild lands on row 2 or 3, it will expand upwards giving you more chances to land more wild wins on the next spin. The only negative about the Free Spins feature is that you cannot trigger more free spins.

Best Casinos to Play the Big Chef Slot Machine At

• Royal Vegas is one of the earlier ones to enter the online gaming community having launched back in 2000. It is a Microgaming casino with nearly 500 games as well as a Live Casino provided by Evolution Gaming, and it can be accessed via Instant Play or Download. A massive list of banking options makes it evident that it caters to international players.
• Golden Tiger has been open for quite some time and has been offering its services to customers in licensed jurisdictions. The brand has been hailed for its large gaming library, eCOGRA certification, and a very large and efficient banking system.
• Ruby Fortune was created in 2003, and since then it has established itself as a popular gambling spot. It has generous bonuses and prizes, a big number of games, and a good reputation. It has Malta, Gibraltar, UK Gambling Commission, Isle of Man, and Curacao licenses.
• GoWild has established itself as an excellent online gambling establishment. It has an exceptionally large gaming library, big jackpots, and regular promotions designed to keep you coming back. It holds a license from the MGA. There are in fact over twenty payment options for deposits and withdrawals.

More Games by Microgaming

• Sugar Parade comes with a Sugar Parade’s Royal Bonus feature where you make up to 5 picks to win cash prizes. It also offers you a Free Spins feature where you can get up to 20 free spins with all wins trebled. Easy on the eye, it offers payouts of up to 1,658x your bet on each free spin.
• Thunderstruck is 5 reels video game with 9 paylines. The game offers a free spin feature when at least 3 scatters, are anywhere on the reels. It is a low to medium variance pokie with 96.1% RTP.
• Monkey King offers an RTP of 96%, and it’s the free spins where you can make some serious money. It also features a Win All Ways gameplay which gives you no less than 243 ways to win, with the idea being to get 3 or more matching symbols starting from reel 1 or 5 to win.

We Recommend

Those who like their food to be served on the reels without any desserts involved can enjoy the following releases:

• Sunset Delight by Thunderkick is a volatile 3 reel, 5 payline game. You are taken to the seaside in this ice creamed themed serving. It is all about the Free Spins where you start with 5 free spins – there is a Step/Spin symbol which gives you additional free spins or increases the multiplier up to a massive 100x!
• Fruit Case by Net Entertainment comes with 5 reels and 20 paylines. Bright and colorful, it comes with an Avalanche feature which can give you consecutive wins – with a wild multiplier, each win with a wild can benefit from a multiplier up to 8x. This all applies in the Free Falls feature where up to 20 free spins can be won.

Bier Haus by Williams Interactive is originally a land-based slot now available online. The Oktoberfest themed game has an exciting Free Spin feature where you can get up to 80 free spins. The gold buxom beer ladies also transform into sticky wilds for the duration of the feature for bigger rewards.