Tiny Chef’s new gig with Ikea is the hopeful job news we all needed
Finally, some good news: The Tiny Chef, who captured the hearts of internet users around the world this summer when his Nickelodeon show was canceled, is gracing our screens again. This time, he’s making Swedish meatballs.
The Tiny Chef Show was a Nickelodeon series that aired from September 2022 to March 2025. In it, the Tiny Chef (a stop-motion creature vaguely resembling a sentient pea) made plant-based meals for his friends from his home inside a tree stump. But in June, 2025, the Tiny Chef took to his YouTube channel to announce in a heart-wrenching video that his series had been canceled unexpectedly by Nickelodeon. That video now has almost 2 million views and 8,000 comments, nearly all of which are expressing an outpouring of support for Cheffy.
Months later, Tiny Chef’s ardent supporters’ wishes have been answered. According to a press release, he’s teaming up with Ikea for a three-episode series, the first of which is out now. It’s a welcome job-success story to kick off 2026.
Tiny Chef’s return (with Ikea)
In the months since Tiny Chef was cut off by Nickolodeon, he’s struck out on his own. Series creators Rachel Larsen and Ozlem Akturk have kept the character alive on social media, where he posts recycled clips frequently, and via a website where they’re currently crowdsourcing to keep Cheffy afloat in some capacity.
In a November article for the Los Angeles Times, Larsen and Akturk said they’d raised $130,000 in onetime donations and launched a new fan club, merch, and a brand partnership wing to maintain their 20-person team. That work has clearly paid off through this new partnership with Ikea, which will introduce the character to a new audience and potentially set the stage for future collaborations.
Per the press release, the three-episode miniseries will begin with the Tiny Chef “visiting an IKEA store in search of a spatula, only to find a job application.” He will then become an ambassador for Ikea’s new falafel balls (a vegan dish made from chickpeas, which Ikea recently added to its iconic meatball line-up) and join the brand’s restaurant team.
“We are excited to partner with Tiny Chef, showing people that plant-based eating should be joyful, creative, and full of flavour, not just better for the planet,” Lorena Lourido Gomez, Ikea Retail’s global food manager, said in a press release. “We believe this partnership will bring a smile, while inspiring people to try something new.”
In the wake of a year full of job market uncertainty and endless layoff news, the Tiny Chef’s positive work update is the win we all needed.