Omitting the definite article when talking about places

Il cuoco è in cucina

That's weird, right? "The chef is in kitchen". It sounds a bit off.

However, in the phrase "in cucina," the preposition "in" is used to indicate location. In Italian, when a noun follows a preposition and is used in a general sense (referring to the concept of a kitchen rather than a specific one), the definite article is often omitted. This is a common structure in Italian, especially with prepositions like "in."

That means that il cuoco è nella cucina (remember, in la becomes nella) is grammatically correct, but you're being awfully specific about the kitchen!