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."[4] In his review for The New York Times, Stephen Holden called it as "a terrific soundtrack that mixes salsa, soul music and country blues with Caribbean styles".[5]
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."[6] Zeba Blay of Digital Spy called it as "genuinely wonderful soundtrack full of well-placed classic soul and funk".[7] 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".[8] 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."[9]
Chef Vol. 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack that contains previously unreleased songs that are featured in the film. It was released on May 6, 2015 by Milan Records, the same date as the original album released.[13]
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