Littler Chef

First McDonald's started serving salads. Now, the Little Chef is going on a diet.

Little Chef, the company that apparently serves up 15million rashers of bacon and 13million sausages from 375 roadside restaurants throughout Britain every year, are afraid their familiar symbol looks like he's eaten all the pies. 'We get accusations that he's overweight, so he's going to lose his paunch', chief executive Tim Scoble told The Times of London. But wasn't the paunch the point? The current logo is a smiling, chubby fellow, suggesting a fine and filling repast for the weary traveller. But the pleasure of a big meal is now out in favour of the discipline of self-control. It would never do to have a fat person looking happy in the midst of an 'obesity epidemic', would it? The new logo looks slimmer and slightly trendier.

Still, we can take comfort from the fact that the traditional Little Chef, heart-attack-on-a-plate, all-day breakfast will remain. Despite their desire for a change of image, the people at Little Chef clearly know their customers.

Little Chef reborn after a tummy tuck, The Times (London), 16 August 2004

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