Fat Charlie is the cheery mascot of the Little Chef chain.
Charlie is the most recognisable feature of the Little Chef brand. He could be easily spotted on service station totems at restaurants, smiling and greeting any customers coming to dine at a Little Chef.
As well as being the chain's logo, Charlie also made appearances in adverts for the chain (both as a cartoon and live action character), and on various pieces of merchandise made to promote the brand.
Appearance[]
Charlie is a small, plump chef, usually shown with a large smile on his face, a neckerchief and a platter in his hand. On the Little Chef logo, he stands in front of a red background above the Little Chef name.
The amount of redesigns of the logo meant there was a variation of Charlie logos which could be spotted at Little Chef restaurants: Up until the chain's demise in 2018, most Little Chefs featured the 1990s Charlie design as their logo. This was because this logo was used for a long period of the chain's history - it was regularly used up until 2009. As well as this, a few sites still had the older 1980s version of Charlie, such as Bardon Mill. Little Chef restaurants refurbished after 2011 gained a special 2011 Charlie design as their logo, and Warminster gained a 2016 variant of Charlie when it was refurbished that same year.
Despite the chain no longer being around, there are still many remnants of Charlie dotted around the country at former restaurants.
Over the Years[]
1958 - mid 1970s
Born in 1958, Charlie started out as a very plump chef and was rather different to later Little Chef logos. This Charlie is seen carrying a very large tray and wearing a large chef's hat. This Charlie is very special as it has many differences to other Charlie's: the eyes are facing towards the tray, there is no neckerchief on the clothing, the smile is much fainter and there is no outline of the body. A Charlie that sadly no longer exists today as it has been replaced by a more modern one. Reading, Camberley and Bagshot are known examples of Little Chef restaurants that had this logo.
Mid 1970s - 1980s
A large difference in this Charlie compared to the first one. The iconic Little Chef is seen to be a lot smaller than the first one, a lot less plump and carrying a much smaller tray. The chef's hat also has a different design. The eyes are focused on the person rather than the tray, there is the addition of a neckerchief, the smile is more happy and the tone in red is different too.
1980s - 1993
Not much of a difference with this Charlie. In the 1980s, the words 'Little Chef' were added to the logo and positioned below Charlie. This version of Charlie could still be found on quite a few buildings and totem signs at sites such as Honiton, Bardon Mill and Uttoxeter as recently as the chain's closure in 2018. Charlie has the same tray, hat, clothing and face as the previous logo - although his eyes, nose, mouth and the inside of his ear became grey.
1993 - 2009
A little bit of a change with this Charlie. The eyes are slightly different than the old Charlie. The writing also has a different font. The tone of red is slightly darker too. This Charlie was found on buildings and totems of most sites (albeit with this logo being made in a similar style to the previous logo with this Charlie also having a red outline), with the "Hestonised" site at Popham and those in the Blue branding receiving a different version of this Charlie at the time of refurbishment. At certain sites, this logo was sometimes seen on buildings and totems in conjunction with the previous one. Also having been around for such a long period of time, this logo was still seen on the packaging of the iconic Little Chef lollipop until the chain collapsed in January 2018.
2009-2011
Charlie had a minor facelift in 2009, which included changes to his tray and his hat. His neckerchief was also removed and replaced by a proper chef's jacket, his face was slightly altered and his outlines were made more smoother. This logo appeared on mostly a white background, but sometimes it apperead on either a coloured or transparent background, the "LITTLE CHEF" words were changed to red (which is sometimes reverted if the logo appears on a red or similar coloured background) and in a single line, and "SINCE 1958" was introduced underneath. Only the remaining "Hestonised" sites had received this logo.
2011 - 2016
A massive change to this Charlie. The face has a different, more cheery smile and oval shaped eyes. Charlie's classic muffin-shaped hat, which he had been wearing since 1958, was replaced by a more modern hat, and he also began wearing trousers which resulted in a full chef's outfit. Charlie also lost his tray and instead waves his arms out to greet customers to Little Chef. This Charlie could only be found on signs of "Wonderfully British" refurbished restaurants. The font of the writing is also different with loopy writing rather than the block font.
2016 - 2018
The final incarnation of Fat Charlie and the Little Chef logo. This version was used on social media accounts and at a refurbished Warminster in 2016. This Charlie is based on the 2011 logo, but re-utilises some of his classic features: he regains his tray (but with the lid removed and replaced with steam escaping from the food), his classic muffin-shaped chef's hat, and the written "Little Chef" name in it's classic 1980s blocky font. An extra button was also added to his jacket.
Other Appearances[]
Charlie was no stranger to appearing in various other forms over the years. In television adverts, he appeared in live action, animated and even as an animatronic character. There was also merchandise, such as a plushie, made of him; and numerous Charlie costumes were created over the years to promote the chain.
