You know you love the delicious flavors of Chef Boyardee, but did you know that behind this real great food is a real great chef? Before there was Chef Boyardee, there was Hector Boiardi. And it's time you met the real great chef behind this real great food. The Chef Boyardee brand is named after its founder, Hector Boiardi. Born in Italy in 1897, Boiardi immigrated to the U.S. in 1914, and followed his brother to the kitchen of The Plaza Hotel in New York City, where he quickly worked his way up to head chef. In 1924, Boiardi opened the Il Giardino d'Italia (The Garden of Italy) restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio. It was a smash, and when customers began asking him for his recipes and ingredients, he got the idea to sell his culinary creations. Thus, an empire was born. Chef Hector opened a factory in 1928. He introduced his products to America a year later, touting his now-famous spaghetti dinner as a delicious and economical choice to serve to the entire family. Proud of his Italian heritage, Boiardi sold his products under the brand name "Chef Boy-Ar-Dee" so that his American customers could pronounce it properly. ABOUT CONAGRA Chef Boyardee is a member of the ConAgra Foods family, one of the largest packaged foods companies in North America with major presence in retail outlets, foodservice and restaurants, and in ingredients. Our more than 70 brands--which include favorites such as Pam, Hunt's, Healthy Choice, Wesson, Swiss Miss, Rotel, Peter Pan, Marie Callender's, Hebrew National, Wolf Brand Chili, Rosarita, Egg Beaters, Orville Redenbacher's, and more--are in 96% of U.S. households, and more than 30% of ConAgra Foods brands are number one in their category.
