Ettore Boiardi
Italian-American chef who founded the Chef Boyardee brand.
Ettore Boiardi, also known as Hector Boyardee, was an Italian-American chef and entrepreneur, famous for his brand of food products, named Chef Boyardee. Born in Borgonovo Val Tidone, near Piacenza, Italy, in 1897, he started as an apprentice chef at age 11, peeling potatoes and dealing with trash at a local restaurant. After learning more skills in Paris and London, he arrived at Ellis Island on May 9, 1914, aboard the French ship La Lorraine. He worked his way up from Manhattan hotels to head chef at the Plaza Hotel, and later moved to Cleveland, where he opened his own restaurant and began selling his spaghetti sauce in milk bottles. By 1928, with help from local grocers, he launched a complete spaghetti meal and built a national brand, eventually moving production to Milton, Pennsylvania, in 1938.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 22 October 1897
- Birthplace
- Borgonovo Val Tidone, Emilia, Kingdom of Italy
- Died
- 21 June 1985
- Place of death
- Parma, Ohio, U.S.
- Resting place
- All Souls Cemetery; Chardon, Ohio, U.S.
- Known for
- Chef Boyardee foods, head chef of Plaza Hotel
- Occupation
- Chef
- Spouse
- Helen J. Wroblewski (1923)
Facts from the source article.
Early life
Ettore Boiardi came into the world in 1897 in Borgonovo Val Tidone, Italy, born to Giuseppe and Maria Maffi. By age eleven, he was apprenticing at La Croce Bianca, a local spot, though his chores were just peeling spuds and taking out trash. He picked up more restaurant know-how while living in Paris and London. On May 9, 1914, as a sixteen-year-old, he reached Ellis Island on the French liner La Lorraine.
Career
After arriving in New York, Boiardi worked in several upscale Manhattan restaurants, including those at the Claridge and Ritz-Carlton hotels. He then joined his brother Paolo in the kitchen of the Plaza Hotel, eventually becoming head chef. He supervised the preparation of the homecoming meal for 2,000 returning World War I soldiers served by Woodrow Wilson at the White House. He also worked at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. In 1917, Boiardi moved to Cleveland, working first at The Union Club, then becoming head chef at the Hotel Winton, where he introduced Italian cuisine including spaghetti dinners. He remained at the hotel until 1924, when he opened his own restaurant, Il Giardino d'Italia, at East 9th Street and Woodland Avenue. Patrons frequently asked for samples and recipes of his spaghetti sauce, so he began selling it packaged in milk bottles. In 1928, he met Maurice and Eva Weiner, owners of a local grocery chain, who helped him develop a canning process and secure national distribution. That year, the company opened a factory and introduced a complete spaghetti meal with cheese, pasta, and sauce. By 1938, production moved to Milton, Pennsylvania, where the factory could grow enough tomatoes, reaching 20,000 tons per season at peak, and also grew its own mushrooms. Boiardi sold products under the brand name 'Chef Boy-Ar-Dee' because non-Italians could not pronounce his name, including his own salesforce.
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