There was a Little Chief in the family forever, my Mom would smoke cheese, nuts and jerky mostly. When I graduated from high school and moved into an apartment, I got one as a "going away" present.... hmmmm, there might be a deeper story here??
Anyways that was in 1974, and I still use both a Little Chief and a Big Chief. Mostly for salmon, trout and jerky. I have an insulation mod so I can also do things like hocks and ribs if the weather is warm outside. Otherwise, I treat both Chiefs like they were intended.... as a flavor smoker, or pre-smoker. You can't really cook things on them unless the conditions are perfect.
(PS - I smoked cheese for years in mine with great success, but now use an A-Maze-N smoke tray for my smoke generator)