Britain's had Little Chef as long as it's had motorways. From the first 11-seater restaurant in Reading to a chain of cheery eateries, generations of diners have scoffed Jubilee Pancakes and Olympic Breakfasts at service stations spanning the UK. So what keeps the customers coming back for more?
...And a diet cola
Breakfasts are the big hitters of the Little Chef menu. "Please, please, please leave the Olympic Breakfast alone. It is the only thing that can make me smile on a cold winter's morning," begs commenter Hollie.
It's not just the punters who love the Little Chef fry-up. Former 'Cheffer' Tracy Humphreys is sent into dizzy rapture by the mere mention of them in the Facebook group 'I survived working at Little Chef'; "Mmm I used to have them for my break. Didn't eat anything else all day, just lived on that. Miss the breakfasts. Mmmmmm."
Brings all the boys to the yard
Gone but not forgotten, and, if the 45 members of Facebook group Bring back the milkshakes at Little Chef have anything to do with it, they'll be storming the menu soon.
"I want milkshakes back on the menu even if its just the strawberry ones," says group leader, Charlie Coade. Presumably not the ones made by Cheffer Lottie Goodfellow: "We used to make fishy milkshakes," she admits. The mind boggles.
Group hug!
There are fond memories of the regulars at the Lamberhurst Little Chef:
"I remember the big bloke who used to order like 5 prawn cocktails and a massive breakfast with strawberry milkshakes... and his teeny tiny wife!" reminisces Kate Langdown.
"Kate, you mean Harry Roffy," says a helpful Gary Spray.
Elsewhere, customers were less charming. "Once a couple walked in and the guy orders a gammon steak," recalls Naomi Wathelet. "I cook it and take it over to them. A few minutes later I am summoned and the man asks, 'Is this gammon?' 'Yes. It's what you ordered.' 'What animal is this from?' 'Pig, sir' 'I don't eat pig, oh Christ almighty, I want a replacement meal free of charge and I'll be writing to your bosses to warn them about this kind of thing that goes on.' That was strange but rather amusing."
Step aside, Superman
In the 1980s Little Chef even fancied its chances on the rock scene. It's been 20 years since Vivienne Mackey worked at Skeeby Little Chef in North Yorkshire, but the lyrics to 'Little Chef Saves the Day' are burnt deep:
"Little Chef must be the place
To put a smile on the traveller's face
A friendly hello ....and what do you know
LITTLE CHEF SAVES THE DAY!"
(Repeat till numb).
"Little chef will gladly swap your empty plate for a lollipop," promised the menus and you've certainly held them to it. After all, every soon to be car-bound kiddie needs an extra hit of sugar, right?
Savvy to the lollies' following, Little Chef execs are considering updating the lovely lickers to suit the sophisticated tastes of the modern Little Chef customer, mooting a 'refreshing kiwi' flavour for young professionals and 'calming chamomile' for busy mums.
Not so keen on Mary Jane
The little chef has a name and that name is Charlie. Slightly less frightening than Ronald McDonald and with better fitting headgear than Mr Wimpy, it's no wonder the cuddly chef has something of a following.
Head to the official Little Chef Facebook group to download your own, not at all suspicious sounding 'I love Charlie' badge.
Pass the cream, Queenie
If breakfasts are the heart of the Little Chef menu, the fabulously flag-waving Jubilee pancakes are its soul. Tip your hat to the cherry-topped stack and bring on the ice cream.
"I meet up with a friend of mine four times a year and the highlight is the Olympic Breakfast and a Jubilee Pancake," says Neil, from South London. Now that's how you make memories
Eat your way around the UK
It's not often you get to combine good food with a geography lesson but Little Chef's 'imagineers' made that dream a reality.
"I remember the placemats with famous Little Chef restaurants… when our children were small, they revelled in having visited the restaurants they could see portrayed - including the Reading original," recalls fun daddy Stephen, from Yorkshire.
Patriotically initialed GB from Merseyside shares the joy, recalling happy days of: "Looking at the placemats in the Little Chefs and ticking off which ones we had visited. Llanfair P.G. and Killiecrankie were two of our favourites."
Cosmic? It's out of this world
Some restaurants might go down the route of using fancy names to sell their food, after all, sausicon en croute sounds so much posher than 'sausage roll'.
At Little Chef, the house style veered more toward the mysterious with unknowable offerings that included, 'cosmic chicken', 'smothered chicken' and the brilliant but baffling 'beef clanger'.
Is that a lolly in your pocket..?
Single? Looking for love? Then get thee to your local Little Chef, like these roadside Romeos.
"I worked at Granada Hotels Stoke and met my hubby there. I was his waitress," says Yupawadee Sarson.
"I met my wife at Little Chef," says devoted Bere Regis employee, Luke Gray, "and got food poising the night before my wedding." (He claims he ate at Little Chef the night before).
4Food's top 10 British roadside eateries.
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