Ettore Boiardi

Ettore "Hector" Boiardi (October 22, 1897 – June 21, 1985) was the eponymous Italian-born chef famous for his brand of food products, named Chef Boyardee. Boiardi was born in Piacenza, Italy, to Giuseppe and Maria Maffi Boiardi. On May 9, 1914, at the age of 16, he arrived at Ellis Island aboard the La Lorraine, a ship of French registration. Boiardi followed Lorenzo his brother to the kitchen of the Plaza Hotel in New York City, working his way up to head chef. In 1917, he supervised the catering for the reception of President Woodrow Wilson's second wedding at the Greenbrier, in West Virginia. His entrepreneurial skill became polished and well known when he opened his first restaurant, Il Giardino d'Italia, whose name translated as...