Soon after, he was offered a job he couldn't turn down - to be head of the kitchen at Cleveland's famed and very popular Hotel Winton. This was too much for Boiardi and his brothers to handle. Anthony!") Chef Hector plays a major role on the home front by making food for the troops. Get all the top food rankings, new product reviews, and other grocery content delivered to your inbox every other week. [1], On May 9, 1914, at the age of 16, he arrived at Ellis Island aboard La Lorraine, a ship of French registration. In 1917, NPR writes, he moved to Cleveland, where in 1924 he opened a restaurant with his wife Helen Boiardi. However, a version of . So the next time you're in the supermarket and see a brand that you think might be named after someone, don't automatically assume it is. [12] He had five grandchildren. Boiardi sold his company for six million dollars in 1946 primarily due to the fact that he was having trouble managing the incredible rapid growth of the company (at this time annually grossing 20 million dollars worth of sales a year, which makes that 6 million dollar sale price a crazy good deal). So we salute you with a tip of the cap and a chef's kiss, Chef Ettore "Hector" Boiardi/Boyardee. [4] The idea for Chef Boiardi came about when restaurant customers began asking Boiardi for his spaghetti sauce, which he began to distribute in milk bottles. Which of these company figureheads was a real person? - Getvoice.org He died at the age of 87 in 1985. Real. Known affectionately as 'Chef Boyardee,' he founded his food franchise of products with his wife, Helen. At the age of 11, he was working as an apprentice chef at local restaurant "La Croce Bianca", although his duties were confined to non-cooking odd jobs such as potato peeling and dealing with the trash. Sir Henry Morgan sailed the high seas during the 17th century as a privateer. But after rising to the rank of head chef at the Plaza,he started to put food from his birth country on the menu. As Anna Boiardi writes in her book, "I think it is fair to say that those three men (the Boiardi brothers), with no formal education and very little money, can be credited with bringing Italian food to America.". Businessman. Smashing 20,000 tons of tomatoes a season, the Milton factory produced upwards of 250,000 cans of sauce a day. He supervised the preparation of the homecoming meal served by Woodrow Wilson at the White House for 2,000 returning World War I soldiers. He later came to the states through Ellis Island and became a well-known celebrity chef, working at various fancy hotels (and even catering Woodrow Wilsons wedding) before opening his own Italian restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1924. In several cases it's not clear whether the namesake ever actually lived, and in many cases the person the brand is named after never existed at all. In terms of famous people from Ohio, Chef Boyardee might just top them all! [2] At its peak, the company employed approximately 5,000 workers and produced 250,000 cans per day. Chef Boyardee REAL:An Italian immigrant, Chef Ettore Boiardi had a restaurant in Cleveland. The Chef behind the brand: the true face and life of Ettore Boiardi Betty. [3] Four years later, in 1928, Boiardi opened a factory and moved production to Milton, Pennsylvania, where he could grow his own tomatoes and mushrooms. Chef Boyardee was born Hector Boiardi in 1897 in Piacenza, which. Juan Valdez of these company figureheads is not a real person.Thus, option B is correct.. What is a company? Does Chef Boyardee Still Make Chili Mac? | Greengos Cantina The rest is history. In Milton, the company exploded. These names are probably all over your kitchenbut did they belong to real people? After immigrating to America at the age of 16, he got a job at New Yorks Plaza Hotel, And during those years, Boiardi also directed the catering for Woodrow Wilsons. With his brothers Mario and Paul, Chef Hector starts the Chef Boyardee Company. Read More SERVING HIS COUNTRY, SERVING THE TROOPS 1942 Chef Hector plays a major role on the home front by making food for the troops. What a dude. In 1927, Boiardi met Maurice and Eva Weiner who were patrons of his restaurant and owners of a local self-service grocery store chain. [15], In 2018, Barbara Lippert of Advertising Age compared the 1966 Young & Rubicam ad for Beefaroni to The 400 Blows and running of the bulls. So he changed his last name's spelling to make it easier to pronounce, slapped it on a can, and boom, Chef Boyardee was born. Chef Boyardee was a very real, very successful chef. I didnt say much and handed the phone back to my friends dad who was shocked I wasnt impressed. They came in agreement to sell the company and factory to American Home Foods for nearly $6 million. The plaintiff who filed the class-action lawsuit was demanding more than $5 million in damages. Ettore "Hector" Boiardi was born in Italy and immigrated to Cleveland in 1914. The brand's signature tomato sauce has always been sweet and sort of thin, . Which of these company figureheads is not a real person? chef boyardee document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); Jessica Block is a freelance contributor to Sporked, a comedian, a baker, a food writer, and a firm believer that Trader Joe's may just be the happiest place on earth. Ettore Boiardi - Wikipedia The take-out business got big enough that the family started thinking about selling their sauce on a larger scale. Weird History Food will follow Chef from his humble beginnings as an. And in 1928, the Chef Boiardi Food Company was born, launched by Hector, Helen,and Hectors brothers Paul and Mario. There are now more than 650 Mrs. Fields stores in the U.S. Real. He died on June 21, 1985, and today the company is owned by ConAgra, the conglomerate behind faves like Slims Jim, Reddi-wip, Vlasic pickles, PAM, Orville Redenbachers popcorn, and, like, a bajillion and three more food brands. People stand outside for hours, waiting for a taste. Behind the scenes at Chef Boyardee - The United Food & Commercial Then, a lucky break came in the way of a local grocer helping Boiardi start canning his sauce. Wallace Amos was a entertainment talent agent who worked at the William Morris Agency. He sold the company to American Home Foods in 1946 for nearly $6 million, and remained as a spokesman and consultant for the brand until 1978. Real. From Chef to "King of the Spaghetti Dinner", How to Know if Your 'Italian' Ingredients Are Actually Italian. Hector Boiardi was born in Piacenza, in northern Italy. So, using milk bottles, he packaged up the sauce and sent them off. Lets talk about it. He was invented by the Doyle Dane Bernbach ad agency in 1959, to appear in advertisements for the . But not all brands involving a person's name have origins that are so cut and dry. Chef Boiardi was awarded a Gold Star Order of Excellence from the United States War Department for supplying millions of rations for American and Allied troops during WWII. I wish they would bring back the older version of macaroni and cheese with the long noodles and white cheese sauce. Does Absinthe Actually Make You Hallucinate? Again, what a dude! And during those years, Boiardi also directed the catering for Woodrow Wilsons second wedding, to Edith Galt in 1915. Before Tim and Nina Zagat, there was Duncan Hines, a traveling . Don Callender opened a wholesale bakery to supply pies to restaurants in the late 1940s. The name, Boiardi. It was also around the time that Boiardi sold to the conglomerate American Home Products. Chef Hector Boyardee was born in 1897 in Piacenza, Italy, not surprisingly with a very Italian name: Ettore Boiardi. Ettore Boiardi was an Italian immigrant who worked as a chef in New York and West Virginia hotels (where he supposedly catered Woodrow Wilson's second wedding) before. He stayed on as a consultant there until 1978. I usually avoid commenting on all the grammar mistakes, but this one is really bad: in the first paragraph, He later immigrating to America at the age of 16 should be He later immigrated to America at the age of 16. While in this job, he took on the immense responsibility of catering the 1915 wedding reception of President Woodrow Wilson to Edith Bolling Galt. Though no longer the owner, he remained the face of the company, appearing in a variety of print and TV ads for the brand until the late 70s, touting an ever-expanding array of canned Italian eats. After a stint in prison for continuing to harass and pillage the Spanish after a peace treaty was signed, he was knighted and appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica. [4] After sauce, their next product was closer to a complete pasta meal, including a canister of grated Parmesan cheese, a box of spaghetti, and a jar of pasta sauce, held together in cellophane plastic wrap. Hector teamed up with his brothers Mario and Paul to found the Chef Boyardee company, using a phonetic spelling of the family's last name to make it easier to pronounce. When stirring sauce, you should always stir with the spoons rounded side down, rather than stir sideways like pretty much everyone does. He worked as a cook at his first restaurant at the tender age of 10 years old in Italy. Your email address will not be published. Question: Which of these company figureheads is not a real person? [5], The U.S. military commissioned the company during World War II for the production of army rations, requiring the factory to run 24 hours a day. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. The businessmen who developed an early ready-made pancake mix reportedly saw one such character in a black-face minstrel show in the late 1800s and appropriated the image to brand their new product. He opened the first Famous Amos store in Los Angeles in 1975 and then began supplying cookies to grocery stores around the country. About Us | Chef Boyardee From the Chef Boyardee website: . To capitalize on their hometown popularity, they started branding their products with Oscars name when they expanded their business. His brother Paul worked there as maitre dhotel. Boiardi used to grow his own tomatoes and mushrooms in the basement of the factory where his product line was produced. Chef Boyardee is an American brand of canned pasta products sold internationally by Conagra Brands. Four years later, International Home Foods was purchased by ConAgra Foods, which continues to produce Chef Boyardee canned pastas bearing Boiardi's likeness.[7]. Italy's postwar government went one step further, not only awarding him a cross of honor, but also bestowing the title "king of the spaghetti dinner." Let us know! A native of Piacenza, Italy, he was a world-renowned chef known for his many Italian dishes. Weird History Food said, Chefs significant contributions to Milton, Pennsylvania were never forgotten. Answer: While Juan Valdez might sound like the name of a Colombian coffee grower, however his name is completely fictitious. So impressed with Boiardi's cooking, Wilson chose him to supervise the homecoming meal of 2,000 returning World War I soldiers in late 1918. 14 Discontinued Canned Foods You'll Never See Again Boiardi continued developing new Italian food products for the American market until his death in 1985. Hector Boiardi ran a popular Italian restaurant in Cleveland in the 1920s, and his recipes were so popular that people convinced him to mass-market them. Real. The wedding, which took place after a brief courtship, was held at Galts Washington, D.C. home. DUNCAN HINES CAKE MIXES. Mario Boiardi was a sharpshooter Army Ranger in WWII and later in the Korean War. they serve chef at the olive garden so dont tell me its not real italian food. Thanks. Is Pizza Getting Too Gourmet for Its Own Good? Did you know that Chef Boyardee was a real person? As Boiardi himself later explained it, "everyone is proud of his own family name but sacrifices were necessary for progress.". Another example of this trend (while not a brand name) is Cream of Wheat's African-American mascot Rastus, who graced boxes of the stuff, wearing his chef's whites, from the 1890s until the 1920s. Ettore Boiardi was an Italian-American immigrant born in 1897. It is an excellent and convenient meal that can be consumed quickly and has delighted generations of families. In less-racist mascot falsification, Betty Crocker was the product of a Saturday Evening Post contest, and KFC's Colonel Harlan Sanders never actually earned the military rank that many misattribute to him. From there, he worked at a variety of high end restaurants in New York as a cook, eventually working his way up to Chef. Real Or Fake: 21 Famous Brand Namesakes Revealed - Purple Clover Anastasia Arellano. So he changed his last name's spelling to make it easier to pronounce, slapped it on a can, and boom, Chef Boyardee was born. Boiardi met his future factory superintendent when he approached the then employee of Vincennes Packing Co with the idea of canning his sauces. [11], Boiardi died of natural causes on June 21, 1985, at age 87 in a nursing home in Parma, Ohio, survived by his wife Helen J. Boiardi, who died in 1995, and son Mario, who died in 2007. Chef Boyardee: Chef Boyardee The famous canned pasta is named after its founder, Hector. This article is about the canned pasta product line. Did You Know Chef Boyardee Was a Real Person? | Kitchn He is buried at All Souls Cemetery in Chardon Township, Ohio. They later sold the company, and Dean stayed involved in management and as a spokesperson until management phased him out. Ettore Boiardi was an Italian immigrant who worked as a chef in New York and West Virginia hotels (where he supposedly catered Woodrow Wilsons second wedding) before opening his own restaurant in Cleveland. It was famous for spaghetti and meatballs. Advertising Notice You love his raviolis. That was because Chef Boyardee meals were included in American soldiers rations. When he began selling jars and cans of his tomato sauce, he chose to do so under a name that. The company was founded by Italian immigrant Ettore Boiardi in Milton, Pennsylvania, U.S., in 1928. He later immigrating to America at the age of 16 and took the name "Hector Boiardi" as he passed through Ellis Island. Your email address will not be published. Maybe real. As a result of the request, the name was changed to "Beef-a-reeno". That was the town where its tomatoes were grown, and the company even grew mushrooms insidethe factory. He worked in a variety of top restaurants in New York as a chef, eventually working until he reached Chef. But despite all that cynicism, there's at least one food brand out there whose namesake was not only real, he was a pioneering figure who helped change how America understood Italian food. Look at Chef Boyardee, for example. That would be one Ettore "Hector" Boiardi, a very real Italian-American chef. Afterward, Bioardi ended up moving to Cleveland, Ohio, where he opened up his very own restaurant. Chef Hector Boyardee was born in 1897 in Piacenza, Italy, not surprisingly with a very Italian name: Ettore Boiardi. By the time the war ended, the company employed five thousand people and production far exceeded what they were doing in the 1930s. With all that said, it's pretty clear that Chef Boyardee was the real deal. So, who was Chef Boyardee? By the age of 22, Hector Boiardi was one of America's most famous chefs - essentially Bobby Flay meets James Beard if they had barely finished going through puberty when they became big names. When he began selling jars and cans of his tomato sauce, he chose to do so under a name that Americans could pronounce more easily: "Chef Boy-Ar-Dee" (later changed to Chef Boyardee). Whether theres been a change of recipe, a decline in quality, or this is a case of misplaced nostalgia, we concede that Chef Boyardee products probably arent for everyone. Take a Break from Tuna with the Best Canned Salmon, All of the Tapatio Products You May Not Have Known Exist, The 5 Best Bread and Butter Pickles Are Sweet, Sour, and Sensational, Sporkeds Guide to the Best Nachos Fixins, 3 Best Frozen Chicken Patties for DIY Fast Food. Is Chef Boyardee Actually Three People? | Snopes.com Converted Rice Inc. supplied rice to the American military during World War II, and the owners wanted a new brand name and image when they started focusing on civilian consumers towards the end of the war. Unlike the friendly but fictional food faces of Betty Crocker, Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, Chef Boyardee that jovial, mustachioed Italian chef is real. Also, if you give her a bag of Takis she will be your best friend. Even though its now a household name, the people of still have very sentimental memories of Chef Boyardee. Looking to run his own business instead of working for others, his new wife Helen helped Hector open a restaurant in Cleveland, Giardino d' Italia - meaning "The Garden of Italy." Dorann Weber / Contributor / Getty Images. I actually talked with Chef Boyardee on the phone when I was 10 years old. When inventor Chris L. Rutt wanted to sell his pancake flour, he went for the stereotypical "mammy" archetype and took the name "Aunt Jemima" from a popular minstrel song. In a world of fake food mascots, Ettore Boiardi was the real deal. For producing rations supplying Allied troops during World War II, he was awarded a Gold Star order of excellence[clarification needed] from the United States War Department.[8]. His entrepreneurial skill became polished and well known when he opened his first restaurant, Il Giardino d'Italia, whose name translates as "The Garden of Italy", at East 9th Street and Woodland Avenue in Cleveland, in 1924. [1] Already then, the company was the largest importer of Italian Parmesan cheese, while also buying tons of olive oil, according to grandniece Anna Boiardi. Was Chef Boyardee a real person? - Answers Hard work, some luck, and being willing to recognized and act on an opportunity = the secret to success. Ettore and his wife Helen opened up Il Giardino d'Italia in 1924, quickly attracting attention for the quality of their traditional cooking at a time when Italian cuisine was much less common than it is today. Today, Chef Boyardee sells a variety of classic pasta dishes in both cans and those little microwavable cupsSpaghetti & Meatballs, Beefaroni, Lasagna, and, of course, both meat and cheese ravioli. Using brother Peter's Plaza Hotel connections, Chef "Boy-Ar-Dee" meals ended up on the shelves of A & P grocery stores across the country, by far the largest food retailer in America at the time. Born in 1897 near Piacenza, Italy, Boiardi took to cooking from an early age, supposedly finding work as an apprentice chef at a hotel at the ripe age of 11.When he was 16, Ettore left home, arriving at Ellis Island just months before the outbreak of World War I. [1] [2] History The Chef Boyardee factory in Milton, Pennsylvania, as seen from across the West Branch Susquehanna River at Central Oak Heights Among his products was a cheesecake named after his young daughter, Sara Lee Lubin. He even got a Gold Star for it. Yes, Chef Boyardee was an actual person, and for more information about him, look below for a detailed answer on his past. Did Trader Joe's Just Release a Cheaper Momofuku Instant Noodle Dupe? By 11, according to his great-niece Ann Boiardi's 2011 book, he was already a chef's apprentice at a restaurant called "La Croce Bianca," where he mostly peeled potatoes and took out the garbage. In short, Chef Boyardee was a real person. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. | Italian food wasnt on the radar. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Aunt Jemima-esque mammy characters have been used as racial caricatures for ages. They spell the name phonetically to keep American tongues from twisting on the Italian pronunciation. While Boiardi's culinary resume was already quite impressive by the time he relocated to Cleveland, that's where his transformation from Ettore Boiardi to Chef Boyardee began in earnest. The short answer is probably not, unfortunately. Who Was the Real Chef Boyardee? - YouTube Husted picked the first name Betty because it sounded warm and friendly, and combined it with Crocker as a tribute to retired Washburn Crosby executive William Crocker. He worked as a cook at his first restaurant at the tender age of 10 years old in Italy. Chef Boyardee Was a Real Person - Today I Found Out Who is Chef Boyardee? As Anna Boiardi told NPR in 2011, they were the largest importers of Parmesan cheese from Italy. [16], Chef Boyardee is one of the only brands to request to be removed from an episode of Seinfeld. (Clearly, the spelling change was to help consumers know how to pronounce his name.) Doesn't pancake syrup called Mrs. Butterworth's just sound delicious? The Man, The Can: Recipes Of The Real Chef Boyardee : NPR Fairly quickly, it became clear that the young Boiardi he was a prodigy. [18], In 2015, a class-action lawsuit was brought against the Chef Boyardee company. After struggling with cash flow, compounded by internal family struggles over the ownership and direction of the company in managing rapid internal growth, he sold his brand to American Home Foods, later International Home Foods. This will help you not spill any sauce as well as create little whirlpools in the sauce as the curve side down glides through the sauce; this provides optimal mixing. He's become a household name, but few people actually know the chef behind the brand. In 1924 he opened a restaurant there by the name of Il Giardino d . As for how the whole iconic cheap canned pasta thing started, Ettore decided to help out by producing military rations for the troops overseas during World War II, which kind of sort of made him an American hero. Dean was already a well-known country singer, actor, and TV personality when he and his brother Don founded the Jimmy Dean Sausage Company in 1969. His name? Behind the label is a whole impressive history, beginning with the origins of Ettore Boiardi, who became Hector Boyardee the chef we all know and love. Could spaghetti be canned? The future superintendent responded with, You can can almost anything, but I dont know what it would taste like. Soon enough, patrons were asking if they could start making the recipes at home themselves. At the persuasion of a couple of restaurant regulars, including a couple who owned a local grocery store chain, Boiardi built a small canning and processing plant in Cleveland. Boiardi was an immigrant who went on to live the American Dream when he created a whole Italian food empire. In an iconic TV ad from the early 00s, a can of Chef Boyardee beef ravioli goes on an epic journey, rolling of its own volition from the grocery store all the way to a familys home to be reunited with a small, ravioli-loving child. There was never an "Uncle Ben" before Mars decided to overhaul the brand, and "Aunt Jemima" was a racist construction inspired by minstrel shows. Lets try!. They changed the spelling of their name on the label, making it phonetic Chef Boy-Ar-Dee so people could pronounce it more easily. The restaurant was called Il Giardino dItalia, which means The Garden of Italy. Chef Boyardee Was A Real Person What's more: Hector Boiardi was a respected chef who even helped cater Woodrow Wilson's second wedding Kat Eschner March 20, 2017 You know what he looks like,.