Beloved and acclaimed internet sensation The Tiny Chef Show served up an entertaining panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2026.
Though the panel was immediately after Marvel Studios’ Hall H announcements, many jumped to the Indigo Ballroom to be the first to know what is in store for Tiny Chef. Together, co-creators Rachel Larsen and Ozi Akturk joined Jason Kolowski and Matt Hutchinson (voice of Tiny Chef) to offer an inside scoop into what they’ve been up to alongside the culinary master.
In Chef’s new era as the mayor of Pioneertown, he’ll be facing a new challenge in an upcoming movie, A Tiny Chef Western Mystery Musical.
Moderator Gary Miereanu jokingly asked Larsen, “You couldn’t include anymore genres in that film?” The Cheffy creator told the room how Pioneertown lends itself to a Western environment and how the team decided that Chef’s duty as mayor is to make a “spaghetti Western” of Pioneertown.
This “tiny” film, as mentioned by both Larsen and Kolowski, will not be a full-length movie but a short one. “We didn’t want to disappear for two years to make a film. Our hope is to keep making quarterly tiny films,” clarified Kolowski. Surprising and delighting the audience, they shared an origin story clip where Tiny Chef is struck with inspiration after researching the origins of Pioneertown in a library.
To demonstrate that this movie is indeed in the pipeline and not shelved, Larsen assured fans there’s a script as well as their first song, “It’s a Long Story Schmitty.” The movie’s storyline came about through a brainstorming session where Chef—in his time running for mayor—found out that Pioneertown used to be a filming location.
In a shocking revelation, the Tiny Chef team admitted they prepared the trailer in time for San Diego Comic-Con “before a script existed.”
Enduring the grueling 100ºF heat in (presumably) Joshua Tree, the panel members recalled their labor of love through a “Making Tiny Chef’s Epic Western Trailer” video montage. These scenes included Kolowski in his black-and-white prison uniform and the unintentionally funny reality of indie film making, like rolling a videographer in a trolley cart.
Demonstrating the incredible labor of love the Tiny Chef team has put into their first movie, the behind-the-scenes footage was fully rendered with Cheffy’s stop motion animation and voice acting. “Our no budget film,” laughed Larsen in the clip.
When asked how this was different from the TV production, Akturk replied that they have full creative control over the movie. “Here, we can change creative things on the go, but on the TV series we had to comply with rules and approval processes.” Larsen added how their previous experience helped them craft long form stories, which prepped them for creating social media content and “episodic” movie making. “We’re excited to use that skillset with no approval process and do it the way we want.”
Ultimately, the team wants to bring back the show. “We want to get it back on air, we want to make these tiny films, we want to make a feature length film and keep the socials going. We want to do everything. A comic book!” The last statement received cheers from the crowd.
On the other hand, without an overarching committee to answer to, Miereanu posed the question to the panel: “At what point do you ask yourself if this is the right thing that you’re doing?” Hutchinson swiftly answered that the takes they end up using are “the ones where Rachel laughs the hardest.”
Those moments also happen to be the same ones that go viral on social media. Because the team is also reacting to what’s most relevant online, sometimes there isn’t a lot of room to ideate. “It depends on what we’re trying to make. Sometimes Matt does something so funny, we scrap everything else and do that instead,” said Larsen. With the movie and the mayor storyline, there wasn’t any time pressure.
For those who want to continue supporting Tiny Chef, the team relaunched the Cheffy website, which includes a shop and a “Fwend Club.” There, fans can join to get exclusive content, such as previews and behind-the-scenes footage, for $2 per month.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more news from SDCC ’26.
