McDonald's original chef-hat mascot was Speedee.
Speedee represented the restaurant's early Speedee Service System, introduced by Richard and Maurice McDonald after they redesigned their San Bernardino, California, restaurant in 1948. The system emphasized a limited menu, assembly-line preparation, and quick service.
Speedee was drawn as a smiling chef with a hamburger-shaped body or sign imagery, linking the mascot directly to fast food and speed. The character appeared in early McDonald's advertising and packaging before the Golden Arches became the company's most recognizable visual symbol.
A common mix-up is Mac Tonight, the moon-headed character used in advertising during the 1980s. Mac Tonight was much later and was not McDonald's first mascot. Ronald McDonald also came later, making Speedee the key early mascot in the brand's history.