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Chris McLean and Chef Hatchet are the two hosts of Total Drama (for every season except the spin-off), and so usually the only adults in the show. There are very few people to ship them with, but that isn’t the only reason why people ship Chris and Chef together. The pair show a lot of chemistry, despite being completely different. And, observing their relationship, it sometimes becomes apparent that there might be more between them than friendship.
Chris McLean, the vain host
Chris is the official host of Total Drama, presenting the programme and interacting with the contestants. He is a very vain man, caring more about his appearance and career than almost everything else. Chris is also very sadistic, tormenting the contestants with little concern for their wellbeing, and seeming to enjoy seeing them all struggle. But he is also very fragile when his vanity is threatened, lashing out when people comment on his age or appearance. Most people on the show can’t stand him, and Chef may be the only exception.
Chef Hatchet, the competent co-host
Chef is the co-host of Total Drama, who does most of the behind-the-scenes work such as cooking. He is aggressive and also enjoys tormenting the contestants, but he shows more concern than Chris, often commenting that Chris is going too far if it looks like someone will get hurt. And he often seems very resentful that he does the hard work but Chris gets all the attention. But despite his resentment of Chris, he seems to genuinely like him, something almost no one else does.
Chref, the ship
Despite all of their bickering, it is very easy to ship Chef and Chris due to their chemistry and obvious (if well hidden) affection for each other. It is sometimes doubtful if Chris could love anyone other than himself, but Chef could easily be a close second to his own appearance. And there is much to be said about Chef staying with Chris even though Chris is a horrible person to spend time with.
There are many moments where the pair are shown to actually like each other, giggling to themselves as the contestants wonder what is so funny. They seem to spend a lot of their free time together, relaxing on the island and enjoying themselves. In fact, Chef is pretty much the only person who Chris seems to actually like.
They also argue just like a couple, going through a couple of episodes with a feud going on, annoyed with each other about something. They snap at each other and Chris mopes around, until they decide to make up and are shown to like each other again. Whether it is deliberate or not, their arguments follow the Like an Old Married Couple trope, something often reserved for established couples or people being ship teased.
The Evidence
A list of interactions between the pair that could suggest a relationship between them:
- Camp Castaways: Whilst the contestants struggle on the other side of the island, Chris and Chef are lounging around in the production camp. Chris starts to wonder what has happened to the contestants, unsure whether or not to check up on them by viewing the monitors. Chef responds by scooping Chris up and hugging him, cradling him close. The exchange words (Chef: Chris, man, you are one dedicated host. Chris: Thanks, dude. It’s what I do) and then close their eyes as they continue to hug.
- The Chefshank Redemption:As the constants do their latest challenge, Chris and Chef sit on the sidelines and watch them. They sit in silence until Chris tries to strike up a conversation. Sounding very awkward all of a sudden, he starts to ask Chef if he’s seen a movie recently. When Chef simply glares at him, he stammers and tries to change the subject. This is one of the few times where Chris is flustered, and it looks very much like he tries, and fails, to ask Chef out on a date.
- Mutiny on the Soundstage: After Chris dismisses Chef one time too many, Chef decides to threaten Chris with leaving the show. When he tells Chris he could get another job, Chris panics and gets defensive, leading them into a feud. They decide to swap roles to prove that their respective tasks are not easy, but they both struggle. Chef is an awful host, and Chris doesn’t like doing manual work. He also seems very saddened by the idea of Chef leaving. At one point, Beth finds him crying, but he insists it is because of the onions he is chopping, and tells her to go away. By the end of the episode, they make up, and Chef helps Chris fling a filing cabinet towards Beth and Duncan.
- Jamaica Me Sweat: When doing his introduction for the episode, Chris accidentally slaps Chef across the face. For the next half of the episode, there is tension between the pair, with them constantly bickering about Chef’s ability to fly the plane and Chris’s inability to budget for the show. They make up after a while, but the whole thing reads like a married couple having an argument.
- Zeke and Ye Shall Find: Towards the beginning of what is the 100th episode of the series, Chris is abducted by the feral Ezekiel and taken down into the mine. Watching this on the monitors, Chef panics, spitting out his drink all over the monitors and accidentally breaking the computers. Still panicking, Chef sends the contestants off on a makeshift challenge to rescue Chris. Throughout the episode, Chef is shown to stress eat, clearly worried about Chris.
Chref Fanworks
Unfortunately, there are very few fanworks about Chref. Of those that exist, these are my favourites:
- Comfort by Nue’s Words: A short ficlet focused on Chris after the events of Zeke and Ye Shall Find.
- Scared, Pretty Boy? by JockShipper: A oneshot featuring Chris and Chef after Zeke and Ye Shall Find.
- Chref baby: a tag on a blog called Chref on tumblr, featuring fanfics, headcanons and fanart all about Alex, the fictional son of Chris and Chef. As the man suggests, their blog features lots of Chref related posts (blog is often NSFW).
- Then and Now by iamsoroh: An origins story for Chris and Chef. It shows them meeting as teenagers, losing each other, and then meeting up again. It also features the turning point in which Chris began hating teenagers.
- Annotations by Slim Shady (NoraPenblood): a silly domestic ficlet featuring established Chref.