“Chef Boyardee” was born Ettore Boiardi on October 22, 1897, in Borgonovo Val Tidone, Italy. In 1924 he and his wife, Helen, started a restaurant named Il Giardino d'Italia in Cleveland, Ohio. His food was a hit and they stoon started packaging their food and making pasta and pizza kits for home cooks. During World War II, his factory in Milton, Pennsylvania, ran 24/7 to supply millions of canned rations to Allied troops, earning him a Gold Star from the U.S. War Department. He passed away on June 21, 1985, at the age of 87