There are plenty of brands out there that are named after real people, who once lived real lives and, in many cases, actually invented the product that's named after them. He named the business after his mother, claiming that no one would want to buy from a place called Dons Pies.. Their first product beyond simple sauce was prepackaged spaghetti dinners in clear cellophane covered containers that included a canister of grated parmesan cheese, a box of spaghetti and a large jar of spaghetti sauce. His name? Today I found out Chef Boyardee was a real person. Hard work, some luck, and being willing to recognized and act on an opportunity = the secret to success. Well, a lot, actually. Weird History Food will follow Chef from his humble beginnings as an 11-year-old apprentice to the iconic figure he is today. 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. Records from the store show that theyd played around with a similar name before, and had a recipe for a digestive aid called D. Ettore "Hector" Boiardi (that's. He was still a teenager. Chef Boyardee pasta products contain no artificial ingredients, no artificial colors, and no preservativesjust the time-tested taste your family loves. And, despite rumors to the contrary, Chef "Boy-Ar-Dee" was more Colonel than Betty - although that wasn't the correct spelling of his name. Hector Boiardi was born in Piacenza, in northern Italy. Boiardi was born in Piacenza, Italy, in 1897, to Giuseppe and Maria Maffi Boiardi. Chef Boyardee Real. The company, which is today known for its canned meals, especially its ravioli, has changed hands a number of times since. 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. "There are people that are working, and their kids have to come home and make something for themselves," Boiardi told NPR, "even when I was growing up and my mom is a fabulous cook she would open up a can of Chef Boyardee for us on certain nights when there just wasn't enough time. Chef Boyardee was an actual person | Fox News So how did Ettore Boiardi become Chef Boyardee? [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. The company was founded by Italian immigrant Ettore Boiardi in Milton, Pennsylvania, U.S., in 1928. Ettore Boiardi (October 22, 1897 - June 21, 1985), also known by the Anglicized name Hector Boyardee, was an Italian-American chef, famous for his eponymous brand of food products, named Chef Boyardee . [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. These names are probably all over your kitchenbut did they belong to real people? Weird History Food then added, Hector took over a food processing plant and began producing and canning the sauce on a larger scale. In short, Chef Boyardee was a real person. Based on that strength, Consolidated Foods adopted the name Sara Lee for the whole corporation. He supervised the preparation of the homecoming meal served by Woodrow Wilson at the White House for 2,000 returning World War I soldiers. In Milton, the company exploded. 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. According to his New York Times obituary, Boiardi handled the catering at the reception for Woodrow Wilson's second marriage in 1915, still the most recent example of a presidential wedding. They spell the name phonetically to keep American tongues from twisting on the Italian pronunciation. The brand's signature tomato sauce has always been sweet and sort of thin, . [16], Chef Boyardee is one of the only brands to request to be removed from an episode of Seinfeld. In 2013, the town erected a statue honoring him at the entrance to the factory. The 17 Real People Behind Your Favorite Food Brand Names Slideshow And in 1928, the Chef Boyardee food company was born.. 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. Below is a 1953 commercial featuring Chef Boyardee: And below the commercial from the 50s, is the whole history behind the Boyardee name: What do you think of the history behind the Chef Boyardee name? In some cases, the name simply sounds good. [18], In 2015, a class-action lawsuit was brought against the Chef Boyardee company. In 1938, production was moved to Milton, Pennsylvania, where they could grow enough tomatoes to serve the factory's needs,[5] which reached 20,000 tons of tomatoes per season at peak production; they also began growing their own mushrooms on location in the plant. 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. Chef Boyardee is still on store shelves, but the Smurfs version is a thing of the past. Real. 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. That inspired Boiardi to start assembling homemade meal kits for customers, which featured dried pasta and milk bottles filled with marinara alongside a set of instructions. With all that in mind, it's natural to be skeptical of the origins and credentials of any food company mascot. The Chef Boyardee brand was created by a real Italian chef, Ettore Boiardi. However, there was one tiny detail to figure out. [2] He decided to anglicize the name of his product to "Boy-Ar-Dee" to help Americans pronounce his name correctly. The company he sold to was American Home Products (today called International Home Foods). Green made her public debut in character at the1893World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where she charmed the crowds and doled out pancakes from a booth.The Jemima brand soon became so popular that Green secured a lifetime contract, and the business was renamedthe Aunt Jemima Mills Company. That was the town where its tomatoes were grown, and the company even grew mushrooms insidethe factory. 16 Foods You've Probably Eaten But Didn't Know They Were - BuzzFeed The restaurant was called Il Giardino dItalia, which means The Garden of Italy. Ettore Boiardi was an Italian-American immigrant born in 1897. [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. Again, what a dude! Some other real people behind brands, besides Chef Boyardee, were Uncle Ben; KFCs Harland Sanders; popcorns Orville Redenbacher; and McDonalds Dick and Mac McDonald. Ettore Boiardi as shown in a 1953 television commercial, 1953 television commercial with Ettore Boiardi, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Chef Boyardee Was a Real Person Who Brought Italian Food to America", "Hector Boiardi: A Chef's Resume | Chef Boyardee", "Carl Colombi served up Chef Boy-Ar-Dee idea", "The Man, The Can: Recipes Of The Real Chef Boyardee", "Hector Boiardi Is Dead: Began Chef Boy-ar-dee", "Hector Boiardi of 'Chef Boy-Ar-Dee' Foods Dies", "Chef Boyardee's grand-niece Anna Boiardi reveals family recipes with new cookbook", The Man, The Can: Recipes Of The Real Chef Boyardee, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ettore_Boiardi&oldid=1144495541, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from May 2022, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from July 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 14 March 2023, at 01:48. 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. Who Was the Real Chef Boyardee? - YouTube Chef Boyardee Juan Valdez Colonel Sanders Duncan Hines. As a result of the request, the name was changed to "Beef-a-reeno". Behind the label is a whole impressive history, beginning with the origins of Ettore Boiardi, who became Hector Boyardee . Was Chef Boyardee a real person? - Answers With his brothers Mario and Paul, Chef Hector starts the Chef Boyardee Company. The take-out business got big enough that the family started thinking about selling their sauce on a larger scale. Chef Boyardee Cooked Up Success In Cleveland, Ohio - OnlyInYourState In 1924 he opened a restaurant there by the name of Il Giardino d . They also procured distribution across the United States through their grocery's wholesale partners. They came in agreement to sell the company and factory to American Home Foods for nearly $6 million. A History of Chef Boyardee - Foodimentary His brother Paul worked there as maitre dhotel. With his brother's help, he got a job in the kitchen at the Plaza. The classic ready-made pastas are iconic and well known. The ad features a large group of children running through Venice singing, "Hoorayfor Beefaroni!" Hector Boiardi remained on as a consultant and the face of canned pasta until 1978. keep up the great work! May your love of pasta continue to inspire cooks for generations to come even if they're just using a microwave. From the Chef Boyardee website: . And in 1928, the Chef Boiardi Food Company was born, launched by Hector, Helen,and Hectors brothers Paul and Mario. It was famous for spaghetti and meatballs. At the time of his death in 1985, at the age of 87 years old, the Chef Boyardee line of food products was grossing over half a billion dollars per year. [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. Even though its now a household name, the people of still have very sentimental memories of Chef Boyardee. 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. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Lippert believed the ad influenced other famous commercials such as Prince Spaghetti (known for "Anthony! Ettore Boiardi - Wikipedia The Man, The Can: Recipes Of The Real Chef Boyardee : NPR [6] American Home Foods turned its food division into International Home Foods in 1996. So in order to make the fledgling business more palatable to American eaters, the company became Chef "Boy-Ar-Dee" to phoneticize the spelling. 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. 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. they serve chef at the olive garden so dont tell me its not real italian food. He worked in a variety of top restaurants in New York as a chef, eventually working until he reached Chef. Weird History Food will follow Chef from his humble beginnings as an 11-year-old apprentice to the iconic figure he is today.. As Boiardi himself later explained it, "everyone is proud of his own family name but sacrifices were necessary for progress.". Terms of Use Ettore's journey from immigrant to figurehead of a burgeoning canned pasta empire is enough to store even a cynic's wavering faith in the American dream. This is a young man on the move. Chef Boyardee Was a Real Person - Today I Found Out He died at the age of 87 in 1985. 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. About Us | Chef Boyardee That image is instead said to be based on the matre d' of the restaurant where Harwell and his business partners sometimes met. [1][2], After leaving his position as head chef at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, Ettore Boiardi opened a restaurant called Il Giardino d'Italia in 1924[3] at East 9th Street and Woodland Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. 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." Later, in 2000, ConAgra bought IHF, and they currently own the Chef Boyardee name. Behind The Man On The Can: An interview with Chef Boyardee's Grandniece Thank You! The company was founded by Italian immigrant Ettore Boiardi in Milton, Pennsylvania, U.S., in 1928. Chef Hector retires from his consultant position. 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. Not only that, patrons were asking to take home his sauce to use at their own family dinners. Could spaghetti be canned? The future superintendent responded with, You can can almost anything, but I dont know what it would taste like. Yes, Chef Boyardee was an actual person, and for more information about him, look below for a detailed answer on his past. By 1938, Chef Boyardee expanded again, relocating its headquarters to Milton, Pennsylvania in order to more easily cultivate a specific type of tomato for use in the sauce. Real. Just remember one thing, lets part friends. He looked at me and said, What the hell are you talking about? He put his hand into my trolley cart, pulled out a can and said, this is my father. We both cried.. It is an excellent and convenient meal that can be consumed quickly and has delighted generations of families. The Chef Boyardee line was later sold, in 2000, to ConAgra Foods. His face is familiar to anyone who has ever eaten canned ravioli, but you might not know his story. Weird History Food will follow Chef from his humble beginnings as an. [1] [2] History The Chef Boyardee factory in Milton, Pennsylvania, as seen from across the West Branch Susquehanna River at Central Oak Heights The Chef behind the brand: the true face and life of Ettore Boiardi Boiardi continued developing new Italian food products for the American market until his death in 1985. Juan Valdez of these company figureheads is not a real person.Thus, option B is correct.. What is a company? By clicking submit you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. As for the products that Hector Boiardi left as his legacy, Anna Boiardi admits that they may not be the same as when her great-uncle made them but it is an alternative for those who just don't have the time to cook. The Real Chef Boyardee - GenealogyBank Blog 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." The best. 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.". 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). [17], In 2005, Chef Boyardee was shown in MasterCard's "Icons" commercial during Super Bowl XXXIX, which depicts advertising mascots having dinner together. The Fake People Behind Your Favorite Foods | HuffPost Life Today I found out Chef Boyardee was a real person. Who Was Chef Boyardee? A Real, Italian-American Icon - Allrecipes Real. Fictional. 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. I needed that information for ia project I am doing on Chef Boyardee. He was indeed a real. Others, like Mr. Coffee, well, we don't think they were trying to fool anyone with that one. He dated his future wife, whom he stayed married to until his death, for two years before telling her his real name. 33 Grocery Store Staples Named After Real People Did you know that Chef Boyardee was a real person? Believe it or not, Chef Boyardee was a real live chef, and Chef Boyardee's history is pretty amazing. 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. If ever a man was fit for that title, it was Boiardi. 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. 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. From Chef to "King of the Spaghetti Dinner", How to Know if Your 'Italian' Ingredients Are Actually Italian. Fictional. However, a version of . 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. Morrison & Co. Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas in 1885. Boiardi quickly rose through the ranks, earning a spot as the Plaza's head chef just a year later.