Meet Chef Boyardee!
Meet Chef Boyardee!
That man on the can of Mini Raviolis that you’re about open – who is he? He’s on all the cans – always smiling proudly and always wearing his very tall chef hat. Why, it’s Chef Boyardee of course! But is he just an advertising creation or is he a real chef?
He is real and his name is Ettore (Hector) Boiardi (1897-1985) and he was really born in Italy and he really was a chef. A very good chef at that – Hector was the head chef at the famous Plaza Hotel in New York City and he catered a wedding reception for Woodrow Wilson.
As time went on Chef Boiardi developed some Italian sauces at the new restaurant he had opened. These tasty sauces became very popular locally and he was able to begin selling the sauces instead of giving away samples to customers. He marketed himself under the brand name Chef Boy-Ar-Dee so that his American customers would properly pronounce his proud Italian name.
A persistent rumor in American popular culture has existed about Chef Boyardee for years. It is purported that Chef Boyardee is merely a creation of advertising – a fictional character developed to sell products. However, Hector Boiardi appeared as the brand image for his creations in many print and television advertisements from the 1940s to the 1960s. We all know his products by his face on the can. After all, we grew up with him; and, he is still the friendliest face in our kitchens.
