In 1924, Boiardi opened Il Giardino
d'Italia restaurant at East 9th Street
and Woodland Avenue in
Cleveland, Ohio.The idea for
Chef Boyardee came about
when restaurant customers
began asking Boiardi for his
recipe and his ingredients.
He opened a factory in 1928,
moving production to
Milton, Pennsylvania ten years later,
where enough tomatoes and mushrooms
could be grown.
He decided to name his product
"Boy-Ar-Dee" to help
Americans pronounce his name.
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The U.S. military commissioned
them for WW2 army rations requiring
the factory to run 24/7.
To keep everyone working,
the company was sold to
American Home Products in
1946. American Home Products
turned its food division into
International Home Foods in 1996.
Four years later, International Home Foods
was purchased by ConAgra Foods,
which continues to produce
Chef Boyardee canned pastas
bearing Boiardi's likeness.