Cans of Chef Boyardee pasta are practically a rite of passage for American children. By no means are the pastas considered haute cuisine (although we love the mini pasta shells with meatballs), but they heat up quickly, are mildly flavored, and coated in cheesy tomato sauce. Despite its simplicity, the company is steeped in traditional Italian food from the motherland. It all started with a man named Ettore "Hector" Boiardi, otherwise known as Chef Boyardee.
Boiardi was born in 1897 in Piacenza, Italy, a town located 44 miles south of Milan. When he was 16 years old, he and his family immigrated to America where they settled in New York City and Boiardi and his brother found work in the kitchens of the Plaza Hotel. It wasn't long before Boiardi became head chef of the renowned establishment.
