Did The Original Chef Boyardee Really Cater For A U.S. President?

Most of us think of Chef Boyardee as an iconic brand of shelf-stable Italian meals available in conventional grocery stores across the United States. Especially if you grew up in the '70s, '80s, or '90s, you may have fond memories of downing a can or two of the brand's ready-made lasagna or beef ravioli. Apart from Chef Boyardee being the name and face associated with the canned pasta of your childhood, Hector Boiardi (born Ettore Boiardi) was, in fact, a real person. Of the many ways Hector Boiardi made a name for himself in the early 1900s, a few sources claim he catered President Woodrow Wilson's second wedding in 1915. However, the historical documentation confirming this assertion is foggy at best.

In truth, before Boiardi began streamlining the production of home-cooked spaghetti and meatballs, he worked hard to prove himself as a chef. Immigrating from Italy as a teenager, Boiardi secured jobs working in the kitchens of both the Plaza Hotel in New York City and the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. Around this time sources claim that young Boiardi helped prepare food for the 28th president's second wedding reception. The Chef Boyardee website claims Boiardi "oversaw catering" of President Wilson's marriage to Edith Bolling Galt while sources like Smithsonian Magazine assert Boiardi was the point person for this prime event. Yet, is there any hard, historical evidence to back these claims?

Hector Boiardi did secure jobs at upscale establishments in America from an early age. As a matter of fact, the young culinary master became the head chef at the Plaza Hotel when he was just a teenager. Since the Plaza Hotel and Greenbrier Resort were operated by the same company in the early 1900s, select staff members often secured work from both places of business.

According to historian Bob Conte, Boiardi helped prepare a homecoming meal for World War I soldiers, which was held at the White House in 1918. However, Conte makes no mention of Boiardi catering the celebration of President Wilson's second marriage in 1915. Instead, Conte claims President Wilson and his new bride had dinner at the Greenbrier when they were celebrating their honeymoon nearby, but at best, Boiardi helped prepare a singular meal for the couple.

While Food & Wine attributes Boiardi's eventual role as head chef at Hotel Winton to the impression he made upon Woodrow Wilson while working at the Greenbrier resort between 1915 and 1918, there is no historical evidence to back this claim. While Boiardi achieved great success from an early age, no primary historical sources affirm that Boiardi catered President Wilson's marriage with delicious Italian recipes. Yet, wedding ceremonies aside, Hector Boiardi did play a substantial role in keeping Americans fed during times of crisis.

Beyond fixating on the discontinued Chef Boyardee pasta shapes we're probably not getting back, have you ever wondered how just one man from Italy transformed his dishes into the nostalgic shelf-stable products of your childhood? Whether or not Hector Boiardi catered President Wilson's second wedding seems less significant once you familiarize yourself with the chef's more prominent achievements. Since Boiardi was already gaining traction through his culinary endeavors, he opened his own restaurant in 1924 and began teaching people how to make their own Italian food at home. Boiardi started canning his popular sauce for sale in supermarkets and changed his last name to "Boyardee" for easier pronunciation.

At the start of World War II, Boiardi shifted his focus and began producing rations for American soldiers. These rations, which played a considerable part in sustaining those involved in World War II, later became the iconic meals we still see at grocery stores today. To ensure factory workers could keep their jobs following around-the-clock wartime efforts, Boiardi continued production of these all-in-one meals for sale to the American public following the war. The chef also received a Gold Star Order of Excellence award from the United States War Department for his steadfast commitment to feeding American soldiers. Even though there's a chance Hector Boiardi didn't cater Woodrow Wilson's wedding, the man played an incremental role in supporting the well-being of many Americans throughout the 20th century.