Tiny Chef, a small felt character voiced by Matt Hutchinson, creates the world’s tiniest vegetarian dishes in hopes of teaching kids how to cook.Paramount+/Apple TV+/Supplied
The world’s tiniest cooking show featuring the world’s tiniest chef is no more, and the internet has a lot to say about it. On June 24, The Tiny Chef Show announced that Nickelodeon cancelled the stop-motion series, much to the disappointment of the tiny green herbivore, and his fans, known as Cheffers. But the real heartbreak came after the animators posted a video confirming the cancellation on Chef’s YouTube page and other platforms, sharing a sketch of the character receiving the news from the network.
“You ready to cook up some more episodes? I got a million ideas,” Tiny Chef says into the phone. That’s when he gets the bad news. “Cancelled? What do you mean, cancelled?” Chef asks, wondering what will happen to all his friends, before eventually hanging up. He tries to return to his cleaning but his emotions take over and he collapses onto his bed in tears.
Since its release, the video has gone viral and reactions are popping up across various platforms sharing the disappointing news. That’s exactly what creators Rachel Larsen, Adam Reid and Ozlem (Ozi) Akturk were hoping for, as their intention for the video was to help raise money to continue The Tiny Chef Show on social media.
“Tiny chefs cooking show has officially been cancelled (very unexpected) and without the support of a major network we need crowd funding to keep cookin’ over here,” reads the caption on the video announcement. “Yesh this es weal! We want to thank @nickelodeon for giving Chef two blamazing seasons and all the besties he made there. Chef wouldn’t want anyone to blame his friends over there, he’s just deeply sad he doesn’t get to continue hosting a show he adores.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the adorable chef and what’s next.
Who is Tiny Chef?
Tiny Chef is a 6½-inch tall green felt character (eight inches with his hat) who is voiced by Matt Hutchinson. The character first appeared online in 2018 in still pictures before releasing his first cooking video, “Bottlecap Apple Pie.” Four years later, Nickelodeon picked Chef up for TV.
Tiny Chef creates the world’s tiniest vegetarian dishes in hopes of teaching children how to cook. He lives in a garden tree stump, speaks his own, unnamed language and exudes joy with every movement, which is his overall appeal. He happens to share an Aug. 15 birthday with his hero, Julia Child, and when he’s not whipping up yummy dishes he enjoys playing the banjo and Uno.
Since the TV series launched in September, 2022, it has attracted a slew of guest stars and special announcers, including RuPaul, Rebel Wilson, Alan Cumming, Nicole Byer, Amy Sedaris, Josh Gad and Kristen Bell (who is also an executive producer on the show).
The series has also won a handful of awards, including the 2025 Children’s & Family Emmy for Outstanding Preschool Animated Series.
What happened?
According to the creators, part of the reason for the cancellation is the coming merger between Paramount (which owns Nickelodeon), and Skydance. The series has been on hiatus since March, 2025, because of the finalization of that merger. It has taken longer than expected because of Donald Trump’s US$20-billion legal battle with Paramount and CBS over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. The Tiny Chef Show‘s contract was also set to end in July.
Upon receiving the official cancellation news, the creators knew they had to respond in the same way their beloved character would. So they put together the video that has since devastated the internet.
“We always try to play Chef’s life really authentically and this was a big moment – this was his dream show,” Larsen told TheWrap. “He always wanted to be a cooking show host, and I think to not show how that would affect him isn’t right.”
Akturk agreed, saying, “Sharing that with the audience was important,” and adding, “This is what Chef wanted for so many years, and suddenly it was a short journey.”
While the cancellation news is a big deal to fans now, the creators knew about it a month ago. That gave them time to plan their response and make the video.
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What’s the big deal?
Shows are cancelled all the time, for various reasons. But it’s not often the public sees the raw fallout of such decisions. In that way, the video struck a major chord with fans and non-fans alike, who can relate to the devastating feeling of learning your dreams have been cut short. The moment Chef hangs up the phone and is unable to fight back his tears is a palpable one, and it’s resonating with people around the world.
What’s next?
It’s hard to say if The Tiny Chef Show could return to Nickelodeon upon the merger’s completion, as all parties would need to sign a new contract. In the meantime, the creators are hoping to crowdfund enough money to keep the series going online. They admitted they’ve let the YouTube page slide while making the cooking series, so, for now, they’re returning to those videos.
As for continuing the cooking show, that would require a new investor and potentially a studio backer. In other words, given the online frenzy this little chef has created, no one should be shocked if he shows up in a Disney- or Netflix-branded chef hat in the near future.