Chef Boyardee was a real man, but he spelled his last name a little different from what you see on the cans of his pasta in sauce. That image is instead said to be based on the matre d' of the restaurant where Harwell and his business partners sometimes met. (Clearly, the spelling change was to help consumers know how to pronounce his name.) Famous Fake Food Figureheads - The Daily Meal And, perhaps most importantly, who is Chef Boyardee? The Facts Behind These Familiar Food Ads. He died at the age of 87 in 1985. DUNCAN HINES CAKE MIXES. Who Was Chef Boyardee? A Real, Italian-American Icon - Allrecipes Chef Boyardee Was a Real Person - Today I Found Out What other brands are on the list? Again, what a dude! The most interesting brand names based on fictitious people, by far, are those that were devised with the express purpose of playing up the concept of "idealized domesticity," which was a big marketing trend around the turn of the 20th century. Ettore Boiardi - Wikipedia 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. And he's just one of the 33 grocery store brands named after real people. [2] The patrons of Il Giardino d'Italia frequently asked for samples and recipes of his spaghetti sauce, so he filled cleaned milk bottles.[3]. You know his raviolis. Answer: While Juan Valdez might sound like the name of a Colombian coffee grower, however his name is completely fictitious. In 2013, the town erected a statue honoring him at the entrance to the factory. [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. Boiardi's product was soon being stocked in markets nationwide the company had to open a factory in 1928 to meet the demands of national distribution. Weird History Food took a look at this impressive career, explaining, Chef Hector Boyardee was born in 1897 in Piacenza, Italy, not surprisingly with a very Italian name: Ettore Boiardi. By the late 1930s, Hector was headed east to set up his kitchen in Milton, Pennsylvania . From Duncan Hines to Chef Boyardee, here are 33 grocery store items named after real people. Boiardi had been an 11 year old apprentice at a restaurant in Italy before coming to New York. 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. He and his wife would hand them out using old milk bottles. But the real Chef Boyardee? Soon after, he was training under esteemed chefs in Paris and London. However, demand for his sauce became too great and soon Boiardi realized that perhaps it was this "take-home" industry that was his future. Fairly quickly, it became clear that the young Boiardi he was a prodigy. 14 Discontinued Canned Foods You'll Never See Again I wish they would bring back the older version of macaroni and cheese with the long noodles and white cheese sauce. He made quite the impression amongst diners as Italian food wasnt quite as widespread as it is today. 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. In 1924 he opened a restaurant there by the name of Il Giardino d . Chef Boyardee Was a Real Person Who Brought Italian Food to America In 1917, NPR writes, he moved to Cleveland, where in 1924 he opened a restaurant with his wife Helen Boiardi. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine The History of the Hydrox, the Cookie the Oreo Once Aspired to Be, The Only Ranch Dressing I've Ever Needed Comes from a Steak House I've Never Eaten At, 6 Ways to Make Jarred Pasta Sauce Taste Homemade, What Happens If You Don't Pop Microwave Popcorn With 'This Side Up', The Surprising (and Speculative) History of Chili, Stanley Tucci Launched His First Recipe Kit for You to Make His Holiday Pasta, Real Or Not? RELATED: 10 Discontinued Restaurant Dishes You Totally Forgot About 12 Trader Joe's Vegetable Chili Shutterstock Trader Joe's has discontinued several of its chili offerings, including the fan-favorite veggie chili. What is Chef Boyardee? 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. Betty Crocker, Uncle Ben, Orville Redenbacher, and Dr. Pepper are a few that come to mind. As a kid, I had so many questions. Behind the scenes at Chef Boyardee - The United Food & Commercial Required fields are marked *. Was Chef Boyardee a real person? - Answers Peppers Pepsin Bitters. According to the Dr Pepper Museum, there are dozens of stories that connect the name to real-life Doctor Peppers that Morrison might have known, but no conclusive links have been established. In other cases, they were created by advertising agencies to give a friendly face to a faceless company. The company specialized in three flavors of sauces: traditional, mushroom, and spicy Naples-style. 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. The brand's signature tomato sauce has always been sweet and sort of thin, . Chef Boyardee is an American brand of canned pasta products sold internationally by Conagra Brands. After working in New York's Plaza Hotel, he opened his own restaurant. Chef Hector retires from his consultant position. Unlike Chef Boyardee, the following brands feature fictitious people: Betty Crocker, Mrs. Butterworth, Aunt Jemima, and Ronald McDonald. When World War II erupted in Europe, the food company was put to work making Army rations. Chef Boyardee was born Hector Boiardi in 1897 in Piacenza, which. ", SLEEPYTIME TEA AND THE LITTLE-KNOWN RELIGION BEHIND IT, THE NOT-SO-AMERICAN HISTORY OF CHEEZ WHIZ. While we may think of him as the man on the can, Ettore "Hector" Boiardi was, in fact, one of the top culinary talents in America who even cooked for a president. Baker Charles Lubin owned a small chain of Chicago bakeries in the early 20th century. He soon found his way into the kitchen of New York's famous Plaza Hotel, with help from older brother Paul, who worked there as a matre d'. Its first product: spaghetti dinner, including a canister of grated parmesan, a box of spaghetti and a jar of sauce. He later started a successful flooring and tile company. The rest is history. Juan Valdez of these company figureheads is not a real person.Thus, option B is correct.. What is a company? Hector Boiardi was born in Piacenza, in northern Italy. Chef Boyardee products are available in cans or single-use microwavable cups. After immigrating to America at the age of 16, he got a job at New Yorks Plaza Hotel, according to NPRs All Things Considered. THE #FAMOUSGRAVE OF #CHEFBOYARDEE IN CHARDON #OHIO Born in 1897 in the northern Italian region of Piacenza, Boiardi supposedly used a wire whisk for a rattle and by age 11 was working as an. From there, he worked his way up the ranks and became the head chef. Your email address will not be published. For its founder, see, "The Man, The Can: Recipes Of The Real Chef Boyardee", "Your favorite food icons: Fact or fiction? In 1917, NPR writes, he moved to Cleveland, where in 1924 he opened a restaurant with his wife Helen Boiardi. But Chef Boyardee was not, as commonly believed, a fictional creation whose name was formed from the given names (Boyd, Art, and Dennis) of the men who created him. 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. Chef Boyardee JUMBO Spaghetti & Meatballs Per 1 cup (255 g): 280 calories, 13 g fat (4.5 g saturated fat), 700 mg sodium, 29 g carbs (3 g fiber, 8 g sugar), 11 g protein Who knew that spaghetti and meatballs could come with 8 grams of sugar? Real. 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. As Anna Boiardi told NPR in 2011, they were the largest importers of Parmesan cheese from Italy. Records from the store show that theyd played around with a similar name before, and had a recipe for a digestive aid called D. Boiardi appeared in many print advertisements and television commercials for his brand in the 1940s through the 1960s. Chef Boyardee Was a Real Person Who Brought Italian Food to America By Matt Blitz Published on June 22, 2017 Photo: Dorann Weber / Getty Images Colonel Sanders was real. I actually talked with Chef Boyardee on the phone when I was 10 years old. The Unhealthiest Canned Foods on the Planet | Eat This Not That Boiardi originally grew his trademark mustache to try to make himself look older as he was generally the youngest cook in the often top notch restaurants where he was a cook at, starting around 16 when he moved to America. I needed that information for ia project I am doing on Chef Boyardee. This forced them to scale up and have the factory operate 24 hours a day. 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. [5] Boiardi sold his products under the brand name "Chef Boy-Ar-Dee" because non-Italians could not manage the pronunciation,[6][7] including his own salesforce. When he did so, he took her to a grocery store at 1am, this followed: Wife: I thought he was going to tell me it was a no-go and that he thought the relationship was a mistake, so I said, Look, its been great. But not all brands involving a person's name have origins that are so cut and dry. 33 Grocery Store Staples Named After Real People Four years later, Boiardi and his brothers started the Chef Boyardee Company. Ettore Hector Boiardi, born in 1897 in Italy, where he was working as an apprentice chef by age 11. The classic ready-made pastas are iconic and well known. Terms of Use We've all had at least one meal from Chef Boyardee. Pharmacist Charles Alderton developed the formula for Dr Pepper while working at W.B. 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. But his facelike his name, or at least the phonetic spelling of itendures on the label of every can. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Real. They also procured distribution across the United States through their grocery's wholesale partners. 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. Also, if you give her a bag of Takis she will be your best friend. The company was founded by Italian immigrant Ettore Boiardi in Milton, Pennsylvania, U.S., in 1928. Eventually, the revenue from these takeout orders surpassed what the restaurant itself was bringing in and Boiardi needed a processing plant to keep up with demands. [3] The first product to be sold was a "ready-to-heat spaghetti kit" in 1928. His face is familiar to anyone who has ever eaten canned ravioli, but you might not know his story. It is an excellent and convenient meal that can be consumed quickly and has delighted generations of families. He's become a household name, but few people actually know the chef behind the brand. Weird History Food will follow Chef from his humble beginnings as an 11-year-old apprentice to the iconic figure he is today.. Italian food wasnt on the radar. 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 plant runs 24/7, and after the war hes awarded the Gold Star, one of the highest military honors a civilian can receive. Boiardi was born in Piacenza, Italy, in 1897, to Giuseppe and Maria Maffi Boiardi. As a result of the request, the name was changed to "Beef-a-reeno". So how did Ettore Boiardi become Chef Boyardee? The plaintiff who filed the class-action lawsuit was demanding more than $5 million in damages. Boiardi was an immigrant who went on to live the American Dream when he created a whole Italian food empire. German immigrant brothers Oscar, Gottfried, and Max Mayer ran a butcher shop in Chicago in the early 20th century, which was one of the first companies to get on board with the USDAs new meat inspection grades. Boiardi used to grow his own tomatoes and mushrooms in the basement of the factory where his product line was produced. The Chef Boyardee line was later sold, in 2000, to ConAgra Foods. 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. He was still a teenager. 16 Foods You've Probably Eaten But Didn't Know They Were - BuzzFeed I love the part about the guy keeping his familys wealth secret until he was sure. The company he sold to was American Home Products (today called International Home Foods). They changed the spelling of their name on the label, making it phonetic Chef Boy-Ar-Dee so people could pronounce it more easily. 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. He is the great uncle of American author Anna Boiardi, who wrote Delicious Memories: Recipes and Stories from the Chef Boyardee Family. Fields began franchising in 1990 and then sold the business while staying on as the companys spokesperson. 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. Few people are aware that Chef Boyardee, the iconic mustached man on the can of ravioli, was a real person with an amazing story. It was also around the time that Boiardi sold to the conglomerate American Home Products. They spell the name phonetically to keep American tongues from twisting on the Italian pronunciation. Chef Boyardee: Chef Boyardee The famous canned pasta is named after its founder, Hector. 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. He did have to sell the company soon after the war, though, in order to make sure that all the extra hands hired for the war efforts could keep their jobs. 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