Chef Boyardee was an American ‘food hero’

Chef Boyardee was a real guy. He was born as Ettore Boiardi in Italy in 1897 and came to the United States as a teenager in 1914 to live and breathe the “American dream.”

Ettore’s hometown was Borgonovo Val Tidone, near Piacenza, in northwest Italy (in the top of the boot). He began working as an apprentice chef in a local restaurant there at age 11 – learning how to peel potatoes…and tend to the trash.

After arriving at Ellis Island in New York City, Boiardi Anglicized his first name to “Hector” and worked in a succession of upscale Manhattan restaurants. He followed his older brother Paul to the kitchen of the Plaza Hotel in New York City, working his way up to head chef.

Chef Hector Boiardi earned a reputation for excellence. In fact, he was tapped to supervise preparations of the “homecoming meal” hosted in 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson at the White House to honor 2,000 returning World War I soldiers.

Hector Boiardi relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, and became head chef at the Hotel Winton. His tenure there lasted until 1924, when he left to establish his own restaurant in Cleveland, Il Giardino d’Italia (The Garden of Italy).

Patrons asked to purchase his pasta sauce so they could serve it at home, and Hector Boiardi obliged, filling up empty glass milk bottles. 

In 1927, he met and collaborated with two of his restaurant regulars, Maurice and Eva Weiner, owners of a chain of self-service grocery stores. The Weiners showed him how to make his food products on a larger scale.

In 1928, Hector Boiardi began producing a complete spaghetti meal kit, including a canister of grated Parmesan cheese that was imported from Italy, a box of dry spaghetti and a jar of sauce. Homemakers loved its convenience.

 

An early customer was A&P, the national supermarket chain. It was during this time that the “Chef Boy-Ar-Dee” brand evolved, so that consumers could more easily pronounce the Italian name. (Later it was compressed to Chef Boyardee).

 

In 1938, the Boiardi brothers (shown below from left are Paul, Hector and Mario) moved their company operations into a vacant textile mill in Milton, Pa., in the Susquehanna River Valley. 

Fertile farmland there allowed the Boiardis to raise their own tomatoes and mushrooms, key ingredients in their food products.

 

During World War II, the U.S. military commissioned the Boyardee Company in 1942 to produce army rations, primarily “spaghetti in tomato sauce with meat or meatballs.” The Milton manufacturing plant began round-the-clock operations, seven days a week, preparing a quarter of a million rations on a daily basis.

 

The factory’s workforce ballooned to more than 5,000 people who were engaged in ensuring that American troops overseas could enjoy the “food comforts of home.” The place was teeming with patriotism. 

Banners set the tone. Some read: “Keep ‘em flying!” “Keep ‘em rolling!” and “ Keep ‘em well-fed!” 

Hector Boiardi received the Gold Star Order of Excellence from the U.S. War Department in 1946, in honor of his company’s immense contributions to the war effort.

In order to avoid post-war layoffs and recognizing that the operation had reached a scale beyond what the brothers could manage on their own, the Boiardis sold the company to American Home Foods later in 1946 for nearly $6 million.

Hector Boiardi would remain on as a brand consultant for the next 32 years, appearing in many print advertisements and television commercials.

Hector Boiardi died in 1985 at age 87, but his smiling face remains the image of the Chef Boyardee brand. 

Today, the product lineup includes Ravioli, Beefaroni, Lasagna and other pasta-related dishes.