diff --git a/examples/chef/chef.py b/examples/chef/chef.py
index 400511315f1b08..773af840da5c9f 100755
--- a/examples/chef/chef.py
+++ b/examples/chef/chef.py
@@ -199,7 +199,11 @@ def main(argv: Sequence[str]) -> None:
             cached_manifest = json.loads(ci_manifest_file.read())
             for device in ci_manifest:
                 if device != "zap_commit":
-                    if cached_manifest[device] != ci_manifest[device]:
+                    try:
+                        if cached_manifest[device] != ci_manifest[device]:
+                            print("Cached files out of date. Please run chef with the flag --generate_zzz and commit")
+                            exit(1)
+                    except KeyError:
                         print("Cached files out of date. Please run chef with the flag --generate_zzz and commit")
                         exit(1)
                 if device == "zap_commit" and False: