Chef Hatchet

is a cook, co-host, best friend and sidekick to Chris on Total Drama. Chef hosts the show in Basic Straining, Are We There Yeti?, a part of Mutiny on the Soundstage, Eat, Puke and Be Wary, and Zeek and Ye Shall Find; and becomes promoted to an official co-host in Total Drama Island(2023). He is the only other major member of the staff besides Chris to be featured on the show.
== Personality ==
Chef Hatchet is the aggressive and military-tough sidekick of Total Drama host Chris. He provides the meals for the contestants, disgusting slop which has been slammed by all but a few competitors, but even they have complained about it at one point or another. However, some episodes have suggested that Chef actually does have exceptional culinary skills, meaning he prepares disgusting meals for the contestants on purpose. He will take over as primary host when Chris is absent or when he is told to do so. Given that both derive equal enjoyment from harming the teenagers, it is hardly a far cry from the normal routine. Chef is bigger, louder, and much more confrontational and intimidating than Chris, who prefers a different outlet of striking fear into the contestants. However, Chef still has standards and will sometimes express admiration or even concern for the contestants, only to be ignored by Chris.
He frequently cross-dresses, which garner ridicule from everybody present. Although Chris calls him a friend, they have had more than their share of negative interactions throughout the series. Chris's selfishness and neglect of the competitors will sometimes be replicated in his treatment of Chef. Chef is not at all hesitant to call the other out and, in some instances, he has threatened or come close to leaving the show because of it. Chris is always extremely against this idea. Chef is multi-talented, having been seen doing many things skilfully while Chris introduces challenges. He has claimed to have fought in a war, which could explain his current militaristic approach to others.
In the reboot, Chef is a lot more caring to the contestants and frequently acts as a voice of reason when Chris takes things too far, possibly because he may have softened with age due to the reboot happening fifteen years after the show's beginning. Chef shows genuine concern for the contestants' safety, such as being worried about Wayne and Raj after they get badly injured and telling the contestants not to eat a 50 foot tapeworm for a challenge. However, he still retains some of his rudeness and berates the contestants at every elimination ceremony on what they did wrong.
== Trivia ==
=== Comparisons ===
* Chef is one of two characters in the Total Drama franchise to not have their first name revealed, the other being Sanders.
* Chef is one of the five characters to have a unibrow, the others being Duncan, Eva, an intern from Aftermath: Bridgette Over Troubled Water, and Brick.
* Chef is one of nine characters on the show to have been bald or currently be bald, with the others being Sierra, Alejandro, Ezekiel, Chris, Staci, Dakota, Dave, and Heather.
** Of those nine, he and Chris are the only ones who are not contestants, and he is the only one who has been bald ever since the beginning of the show.
* Chef is one of five characters to have more than one voice actor/actress, with the others being Alejandro, Chris, Courtney and the killer.
** In Chef's case, he was voiced by Clé Bennett from Total Drama Island until Total Drama: Pahkitew Island and will be voiced by Deven Mack, who voiced Chef's Total DramaRama counterpart, for Total Drama Island.
*** Mack previously explained that Bennett's recasting for Total DramaRama had to do with Fresh TV worrying that Bennett's availability could be challenged with potential scheduling conflicts with the show's recordings due to his recent involvement in several Hollywood productions, though he noted that Fresh TV didn't fire Bennett and would gladly give him back the role of Chef if there was an opportunity for him to return. As Mack will be voicing Chef in the new season, it's likely that Bennett didn't have the opportunity.
* Chef is one of the few characters in the franchise to have a tattoo. The others are Brody, Courtney, Crimson, Duncan, Dwayne, Geoff, and Spud.
** However, he, Brody, and Crimson are the only ones whose tattoos are not covered up by their clothing.
** Chef's tattoo is prominently seen on numerous occasions: a fouled anchor, which may prove to be a connection to his alleged services in the armed forces, most likely the navy.
* Chef is one of the thirteen characters on the show to have visible abs, with the others being Chris, Justin, Alejandro, DJ, Mike, Lightning, Geoff, Don, Devin, Ryan, Brody and Jacques
* Chef Hatchet is one of nine characters whose name is referenced in an episode title (The Chefshank Redemption and Grand Chef Auto), the others being Harold, Owen, Courtney, Bridgette, Chris, Ezekiel, Scarlett, and Sky.
* Chef is one of several characters who possess more than one main design, having his original chef outfit and his new co-host outfit. Other characters include: Heather, Ezekiel, Mike, Dakota, Sierra, Lightning, and Scarlett.
* Chef Hatchet is one of the eight characters to have a gap in their teeth, the others being Cody, Mickey, Mike, Sugar, Rodney, Heather (until hers got filled) and Leonard.
* Chef, B, Bowie, Caleb, Cameron, Damien, Justin, Leonard, Lightning and Ryan are the only males to have prominent lips.
* Chef is one of nineteen male characters to have facial hair, with the others being Alejandro, B, Beardo, Chet, Chris, Damien, Devin, DJ, Duncan, Ezekiel, Gerry, Harold, Lorenzo, Pete, Sam, Shawn, Spud, and Wayne.
=== Miscellaneous ===
* The only seasons Chef did not host at least one episode were Total Drama World Tour and Total Drama: Pahkitew Island.
* Outside of Aftermath episodes, Chef has appeared in every episode except for Up the Creekand If You Can't Take The Heat....
* According to Chris in Not Quite Famous, Chef is a former disc jockey, VJ and rap artist.
** Chris also refers to Chef as a former army corporal in Riot On Set.
* In an interview, co-producer Tom McGillis states that Chef is a breakout character in Total Drama as he went from camp cook to Chris' sidekick and co-host. Because of his popularity, McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch choose him to star in Total DramaRama.
* According to Total Drama Online, his birthday is May 21st. This makes him one of four characters with confirmed birthdays, the others being Cody, Chris, and Junior.
* Chef cross-dresses regularly and, according to Chris in his interview with Erin, most of them are on Chef's own accord:
** He wore a pink ballerina tutu in The Big Sleep.
** He wore an airplane stewardess uniform (complete with a curly blond wig) in Phobia Factor and Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special.
** He wears a nurse's outfit in Who Can You Trust?, The Am-AH-Zon Race, and Lies, Cries and One Big Prize.
** He wore a sleek fuchsia dress with a matching chef's hat with diamond earrings and a necklace in I Triple Dog Dare You!
*** He continues to wear the dress for several episodes in Total Drama Action, including the opening sequence. He refused to wear it during the award ceremony in 3:10 to Crazytown, but he starts wearing it again from The Sand Witch Project onward. In Total Drama World Tour, he is seen wearing this in Niagara Brawls. In Total Drama All-Stars, Chef wears this dress in Suckers Punched. In Total Drama: Pahkitew Island, Chef wears this dress in Pahk'd With Talent.
** He wears a frilly, translucent pink southern belle dress complete with a bonnet and fan in 3:10 to Crazytown. He abandons it after Chris teases him.
** He wore a small purple bikini and lipstick in Million Dollar Babies.
** He wore a pink princess dress and a tiara in Mutiny on the Soundstage.
** He wore a fairy costume while the McLean-Brand Chris Head was being introduced in Bigger! Badder! Brutal-er!
** He dressed up as a showgirl in Finders Creepers as the wardrobe has no more vampire costumes.
* Chef seems to be very skilled. Besides being a chef, he was portrayed doing the following variety of tasks: being a referee, a stunt tester, an airplane pilot (not very good), a soldier, doctor, nurse, man hunter, actor, boot camp instructor, substitute host, harp player, drums player, acting judge, bus/limousine driver, restaurant owner, writer, and a famous D.J. (D.J. Jazzy Chef, as called by Izzy) as well as dressing as a variety of costumes.
* In Mutiny on the Soundstage, Chris stated that Chef sold "street meat" (roadkill) outside of a bus station before he was hired for the show.
* During Basic Straining, while the campers are holding up the canoes and while Chef is eating with Chris, Chef claims to have been in a war. Although he mentions going through a jungle (associated with the Vietnam War), Canada wasn't involved in the Vietnam War. Chef refused to answer when Gwen asked him which war it was, which could indicate either that he was lying or that he was too traumatized to discuss the topic further.
* Although some episodes seem to indicate that Chef is a good cook who creates gross meals on purpose, he often gets angry if someone complains about them, suggesting that either he is hypocritical for wanting gratitude from people that he puts no effort into feeding properly, or that he genuinely believes his own disgusting meals can taste good.
* It was revealed in an interview that Brian Froud originally auditioned to voice Chef Hatchet by auditioning with an Al Pacino-like voice before being cast as Harold, comparing his impression to that of Tony Montana of the 1983 movie Scarface.
* In Haulin' n' Baulin', it is revealed Chef has calf implants, as it is hard for him to bulk up his calves.