The Chew first aired in 2011, and co-hosts Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Clinton Kelly,
Carla Hall, and Daphne Oz quickly won over fans and turned the show into the mega hit
it is today.
But it hasn't all been easy.
Here's a look at the untold truth of The Chew.
Reviews were horrible
Critics were not on board with The Chew when the show first aired.
The New York Daily News said the first episode "often felt overstuffed, as if its celebrity
crew were engaged in a speed-talking contest."
Esquire said that the co-hosts were "hyperactive."
But in spite of the negativity, the critics held out hope that the show would improve
with time, with the Huffington Post saying, "Perhaps your first episode was just a rocky
start…after all, you can only go up from here."
That proved to be prophetic, as The Chew became one of the most popular daytime talk shows
on television.
Former co-host Daphne Oz attributed the show's success to its relatability.
"We show you how we mess up and we show you how we recover, and people really appreciate
that realness in this age of a lot of fluff and smoke 'n mirrors and stuff."
The hosts are friends
The chemistry between the show's co-hosts is undeniable.
Carla Hall told PopSugar,
"The one thing that drew me to The Chew was we all have our different lanes, but we don't
step on each other's toes.
It's this mutual respect, and you realize when you're around different people, you actually
learn more about others."
And Oz agreed, telling Fox News,
"We are all as friendly off-set as you see on-set."
Well, with one exception….
Mario Batali was a jerk
The cast of The Chew might be friendly, but Mario Batali hasn't always been very nice
to his co-hosts.
In the earliest episodes, there was some friction between Batali and Daphne Oz with Batali making
plenty of snide remarks about Oz's healthy eating habits.
"what planet are you from that they don't have hot dogs?"
And in a 2012 interview with Eater, Batali's comments about his hosts seemed a little passive-aggressive.
"I never would have chosen my roommates, but after a year of working with them, I realize
that they don't have weird ulterior motives.
These are pure people.
Their messages are not all yet clear, even after a year, but they're smart and fun."
That was just being a jerk, but in 2017, Batali was fired from the show after several women
came forward accusing him of sexual misconduct spanning decades.
Batali issued a statement that read in part,
"I know my actions have disappointed many people."
"To the people who have been at my side during this time...
I am grateful for your support and hopeful that I can regain your respect and trust.
I will spend the next period of time trying to do that."
Carla Hall has a secret talent
Co-host Carla Hall has turned out to be something of a renaissance woman.
Besides being a chef, she's also a talented artist, and uses her celebrity to promote
the arts.
She told PopSugar,
"When I was in culinary school, I drew all of my illustrations for my papers.
I've always drawn.
I did cartoons as a kid…I like crafts; I like doing this with my hand; I like color."
Clinton Kelly wanted to be a novelist
Co-host Clinton Kelly didn't set out to become a television personality - he actually wanted
to be a novelist.
Instead, he studied journalism, with his magazine articles eventually leading to a co-hosting
gig on the show What Not to Wear.
He's since written a number of books, including a memoir in which he revealed his past struggles
with substance abuse.
But it was his book Freakin' Fabulous which caught the eye of The Chew producers, and
after a successful chemistry screen test with the other co-hosts, Kelly joined the show.
Daphne Oz was raised vegetarian
Daphne Oz, who left the show after its sixth season, is no stranger to show business.
Oz is the daughter of TV personality Dr. Oz and was raised as a vegetarian.
The former co-host sampled plenty of meat dishes on the show, though, having given up
the vegetarian lifestyle when she was 18.
She told The Los Angeles Times,
"I didn't grow up eating meat.
But being on the show, I've been able to try different preparations of it, and I have to
tell you that Michael and Mario are making some wonderful meals."
Diverse dishes
Carla Hall told Eater that after several seasons of the show being on the air that the hosts
felt like they had fallen into a rut.
In the show's first thousand shows, Hall said
"...there were 327 pasta recipes that Mario did, but 47 of them were macaroni and cheese."
"He came back and we said, 'Look, let's really teach cuisines of the world.
We are not just these one-dimensional people or cooks.'"
Secret ingredients
With such talented chefs on the show, you'd think that they would handle all of the recipes,
but they actually get plenty of help.
The Chew has a culinary staff that preps all the food and actually creates most of the
recipes as well, though at least they do consult with the hosts.
Now we finally know how the sausage is actually made!
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