Did The Real Life Chef Boyardee Really Cook For A President?

Chef Boyardee is a name synonymous with inexpensive canned food. With commercials dating back to the 1950s boasting about meal kits cheaper than groceries, it's hard not to have the best and worst Chef Boyardee products branded into memory. As a child, I truly believed these meals with the little chef on the can were top-tier culinary masterpieces. I never gave the identity of the chef a second thought.

It turns out that Ettore Boiardi (anglicized Hector Boyardee) is Chef Boyardee and the man on the label. His life was unique long before his meals hit the shelves, though a piece of his story remains a little clouded. A common event in the telling of Boiardi's life is that in 1915, while working for the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia, he oversaw the catering of a very high-profile wedding reception — the second wedding of President Woodrow Wilson. A moment like that would be a major noteworthy event in anyone's life, so much so that the story is featured on the official Chef Boyardee website.

Boiardi catering such a high-profile event is certainly something to be expected from such a household name. The only issue is President Woodrow Wilson's second wedding wasn't high-profile. So did Boiardi, the man behind the can, really cook for a president?

President Woodrow Wilson married his second wife, Edith Galt, on December 18, 1915. The two wed a little more than a year after the death of Wilson's first wife, Ellen Wilson. The ceremony was held at Galt's home in Washington, D.C., not at The Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia. A presidential marriage seems like an event normally calling for a large crowd and celebration. However, the rapid pace of the couple's romance after the death of Wilson's first wife, paired with the ongoing presidential campaign, caused worry amongst Wilson's advisors. To avoid a political uproar, the wedding was kept intimate.

The history of The Greenbrier Hotel doesn't mention the catering of any Wilson wedding receptions. However, even if the hotel staff were responsible for catering the presidential affair, the low profile of the event could have prevented the establishment from mentioning it. 

Boiardi did spend time working at The Greenbrier Hotel, and during his time there he also oversaw food preparation for a World War I soldier homecoming dinner at the White House. President Woodrow Wilson's wedding took place over 200 miles away from The Greenbrier Hotel. Boiardi could have made such an impact that he was asked to travel the distance to prepare food for the event, but this can't be taken as an absolute certainty. 

In 1924, Boiardi opened an Italian restaurant, Il Giardino d'Italia, in Cleveland Ohio, and quickly found great success. This success further fueled his ambitions, and in 1928, Boiardi and his two brothers founded the Chef Boyardee company which would eventually become a household name. 

Boiardi's products were a prominent fixture in World War II rations. The Boyardee plant operated at max capacity to keep up with the extremely high demand of wartime production. In 1946, the efforts paid off, and Boiardi was awarded The Gold Star, a highly prestigious American honor, especially for civilians.

Cooking for a president may sound like a dream opportunity for a chef. Maybe, somehow Boiardi did cook for a president at one point. Even if he didn't, his career, his legacy, and his food have left a permanent mark on millions of consumers. Questionable lore aside, Boiardi took what time he had and used it to create an empire.