Photo: Stewart, Tabori & Chang

NPR has a wonderful short audio clip from a member of the Boiardi family that made the American canned food pasta known as Chef Boyardee famous in this country back in the early 1920′s. As nasty as some of you may think it is, I actually enjoyed cooking and eating Chef Boyardee when I was younger. It was very easy to make and served as a quick bite to eat after school when my parents weren’t necessarily around to cook me up an afternoon snack.

It turns out that Chef Boiardi is a real person and an actual chef that started the company with his brothers by selling the pasta sauce made famous in the family’s Cleveland restaurant. Fascinating history to be learned here.