Now before I even attempt delve into that vast resource of information known as the internet, I’m going to put forth some of my own theories on the background of this culinary craftsman.

I think he’s Italian. I mean he’s a Chef, he creates pasta dishes and his name has a certain Italian flair to it. I mean it’s certainly not a German name or instead of spaghetti and meatballs we’d probably be eating a can of “Brat n’ Kraut.” Doesn’t have the same appeal thankfully. I see “The Chef” as a bit of a maverick. The kind of guy who breaks tradition to put forth an appetizing product. Obviously his base of culinary expertise is Italian in origin. His spaghetti and meatballs and ravioli products are obviously a staple among households across the continent, but what about his other products? Beefaroni? What is Beefaroni? I don’t know how many so called authentic Italian restaurants I’ve patronized and asked why there was no Beefaroni on the menu. Due to the various negative responses I’ve received to this question, I can only assume that Beefaroni is an original creation. Defying the laws of traditional pasta “The Chef “ had gone out on a limb to create a new pasta dish! Although based in the forms of conventional pasta creation, “The Chef” takes them one step further with child favourite dishes such as “Roller Coasters.” Besides what traditional chef would even dare to encapsulate the rich flavour of lasagna buy putting it in a can? He’s a rebel all right.

He seems to be a very happy individual. His smiling face seems to make that quite clear. I would also assume that he might be a bit of an oddball. I think that he wears that chef’s hat all the time. Everywhere he goes. The chef’s hat and that traditional chef’s smock. He probably has a closet filled with those hats and shirts. No matter where he goes, he’s wearing the hat. You invite “The Chef” to your wedding, he’s gonna wear the hat. Invited to speak before the United Nations he’s going to wear the hat. I’m sure if he had to go to a funeral he would most likely wear the same outfit but possibly a black armband on his sleeve out of respect. Water skiing might be a bit of a challenge, but I think he would be smart enough to have a particular hat affixed with a chin strap so as not to expose his slightly thinning hairline.

But enough assumptions, it’s time to find out the truth. Now I normally wouldn’t give away any of my web journalism secrets, but I think the most appropriate way to start is to type in the very title of this article into my web browser and see what pops up. All right, here we go, hold onto your proverbial hats…who….is…Chef….Boy…ar…dee!

Well the first link that pops up is the homepage of the enigmatic chef. Well I can’t say I didn’t expect that. A cursory examination shows that the Boyardee products are marketed towards children. Look at the happy children and listen to the wacky sounds! Marketed to children huh? Makes me question the sophistication of my personal appetites for a moment. After a few failed attempts to play a few games of “Ravioli Run” I begin to worry about “The Chef’s” dedication to the children or maybe it’s just a problem with my computer. Enough procrastinating, it’s time to investigate the next link that popped up which appears to have the answer to my query.

Huzzah! Yes Virginia there is a Chef Boyardee! Thanks to those urban legend debunking folks at snopes.com we now know the truth behind the man known as Hector Boiardi. Born in Italy in 1898, Hector Boiardi began working in kitchens at the not so ripe age of eleven. Eventually traveling across the pond, Hector worked in various kitchens across the United State such as the famous New York City Plaza Hotel. Neat. Hector finally opened up his own restaurant in the city of Cleveland. Cleveland? All right. It was there his sauces and pasta became so popular that his customers would demand portions of his creations for home consumption. Capitalizing on the popularity of his cooking, Boiardi changed his name to the famous phonetic spelling we all know and ventured into pasta making full time in Pennsylvania. It was only matter of time before “The Chef’s” business was bought out by International Home Foods promoting it to the recognized brand name it is today. Sadly “The Chef” apparently passed away in 1985.

I tried doing a bit more of an intensive search to find out any more possible personal nuggets of information. I mean to be totally honest the results were a bit anticlimactic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally happy that were was an actual Chef Boyardee but I was kind of hoping for a more of a sordid past. Maybe he had spent some time as a mercenary in Northern Africa or had some integral part in the falling of Nazi Germany during WWII. How cool would that have been? Can you imagine? “Hitler has been overthrown thanks to the combined efforts of the allied forces and single serving of Beefaroni.”