1 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Savor production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: I'm Annie Reese and I'm Lauren Vocalbaum, and today we're 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: talking about Chef Boyard the brand. Yes, because it came 4 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 1: up recently in our Oregano episode. Um, and I did 5 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: not know that Chef boyar D was a real person. 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: That was a wonderful, shocking surprise to me. So here 7 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: we are, we thought we would dig into that a 8 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: little bit more. M hm and Um. I did not 9 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: grow up in a Chef Boyardi household, so I was 10 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: under the misunderstanding that Lauren corrected that Spaghettios was a 11 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: Chef Boyardi product. And I've probably had that like three 12 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: or four times in my life. Um, okay, So I 13 00:00:57,440 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: don't know that I've ever had Chef Boyardi because that's 14 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: what I thought. That was my experience with it. When 15 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: it came to canned foods, I ate a lot of 16 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: baby corn. I loved it, and oh, I know, okay, 17 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: and then those like new potatoes, I love the cans 18 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: of that, and then um, green beans and green beans 19 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: like I canned green beans are fine. Um, They're usually 20 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: not great, but I do have a pretty strong nostalgia 21 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: for them. Because I loved them so much when I 22 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 1: was a kid. Me too, Yeah, there's there's something about 23 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: that texture that's both unpleasant and also very nostalgic. Yeah, 24 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: and and and yet Spaghettios are a rival brand to 25 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: Chef Boyard there from Campbell's. Yeah, I will say Chef 26 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: Boyard also has canned hoops of pastah, which I love. Yeah. 27 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: I'm not sure if they can call them ohs or 28 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: not um, and certainly not ohs of the spaghetti form, 29 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: but I I it did eat a certain amount of 30 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: canned pasta when I was a kid from from both brands. Um. 31 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: It might have helped that I was perhaps like peak 32 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: canned pasta age um, which for me, I would say 33 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: it was like five or six years old when my 34 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,640 Speaker 1: family lived in Ohio and Pennsylvania, which is where the 35 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 1: Boyard brand is from. Um. And my mother at the 36 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: time worked in art and frame shops around Cleveland, and 37 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: one of her frequent customers was Mrs Boyar. D Oh 38 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: that's so cool. Yeah, yeah, and I was so impressed. 39 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: Five year old Lauren was like, you know a famous person? Yes, yes, 40 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: um my, so my mom and I recently did like 41 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: a pretty strict two weeks quarantine and then we'll see 42 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: each other because I hadn't seen December. Um. And it 43 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: was really funny because I we it was when I 44 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: was doing the research for this EPI, so didn't she 45 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: kind of randomly ate um, some chef boy or d 46 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: randomly to me because I've never seen her eat it before. 47 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: And she said like she had a craving for it, 48 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: and we got a whole conversation about nostalgia and um, 49 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: it's just funny. It was one of those like food 50 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: podcast moments of fortuitous nous. Yeah, yeah, well, I guess 51 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: uh this this brings us to our question. Yes, chef 52 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: boy r D what is it? Well, chef boyar D 53 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: is a brand of ready to eat Italian American foods 54 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: and meal kits, mostly canned pastas and either creamy or 55 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: tomato eat sauces, some microwavable cups for even quicker meals, 56 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: and some some pizza, dough and sauce kits which apparently 57 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: used to contain a cheese packet as well, but they 58 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: no longer do. And this is contentious, of course it is, yes, 59 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: and yes, the brand is named for an actual facts chef. 60 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: His picture is the picture on the package. It's that guy, um, 61 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 1: though it's a little bit hard to tell what stories 62 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: about him are real and what are like marketing tall 63 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: tales at this point. But they have a whole line 64 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: of products. Um. The classics are like a spaghetti and 65 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: meatballs in a tomato sauce, beef frabioli, and a tomato 66 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:30,719 Speaker 1: and meat sauce beef aeronium, which is short lengths of 67 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: noodles in tomato and meat sauce, the meat Lovers, which 68 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,160 Speaker 1: includes like tube noodles of some kind, and Italian sausage 69 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:42,040 Speaker 1: in that same sauce, and lasagna by which they mean wider, 70 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: curly edged noodles in that sauce. But over the years 71 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: they featured a whole bunch of different sauces, butter sauce, 72 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: cheese sauce, Parmesan sauce, Alfredo style chili cheesy meat, which 73 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: I find fascinating, like a vegetarian tomato sauce. Oh my goodness. 74 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: They've got products with rice, some with a couple of 75 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: vegetables other than you know, like tomatoes and onions. Uh, 76 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: some with chicken instead of beef for pork, A couple 77 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:15,119 Speaker 1: of cauliflower based pasta things, and gosh any dang number 78 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 1: of pasta shapes um Elbow, macaroni and shells, Your Your, your, A, B, 79 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: C's and one two three's Wagon Wheels co branded tie 80 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: in shapes. Right now, they've got SpongeBob and Pop Patrol 81 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: lines of pasta shapes. A few years back, DC Comics 82 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: had a line. When I was a kid, there were 83 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: teenage Mutant Ninja turtle cans and they were advertised aggressively 84 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 1: during like after school and Saturday morning cartoon blocks. Yeah, 85 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: I feel like my my older brother. My older brother 86 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: loved teenage mutant ninja turtles, and I seem to recall 87 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: a lot of teenage mutant Ninja turtle food products. Oh yeah, 88 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: yeah that and like Ghostbusters. One of my favorite things 89 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: was was high seas like Ecto cooler slimer on the package, 90 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: which made me think it was the coolest stuff ever. Yeah. 91 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:14,239 Speaker 1: Oh man. Anyway, um yeah, chefiar d Is is definitely 92 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,359 Speaker 1: marketed to two kids and two adults who are looking 93 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 1: for something quick and unpretentious and nostalgic. Um and and 94 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:26,800 Speaker 1: you know they taste good, salty and tangy, sweeten and rich. 95 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: The texture of the pastas is soft, if that's the 96 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: thing that you're into. Um that the meat is tender, 97 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: you know, Yeah, yeah, I was. I was kind of 98 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: jealous of my mom when she was eating it, so 99 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 1: she said she only had the one can you can. 100 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 1: I got it, I got it. What about the nutrition? Uh? 101 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: As with many canned products, you know, salt and sugar 102 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 1: and fat are used pretty liberally in these recipes in 103 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: order to create products that can survive the canning process 104 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 1: that makes them shelf stable while still tasting good and uh, 105 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: you know, keeping the price relatively low. Read your nutrition labels. Uh. 106 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: And sometimes products that are purporting to be healthier choices 107 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: like a like A like that cauliflower based pasta versus 108 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 1: wheat based pasta aren't actually that much of an improvement. 109 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: If you're watching your sodium or fat intake, I'd say 110 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: maybe skip this line of products. Uh. They do have 111 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 1: some protein, though, I mean, you know, I'd say that 112 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 1: they will fill you up, but won't keep you going 113 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: in the long run. Yes, yes, yeah, Also, I mean 114 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: disclaimer probably obvious, but they are not a sponsor of ours. 115 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: We are just we are collectors of food knowledge. And yeah, 116 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: kept it, did it did? No brands brand histories, especially 117 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: brands that that were named for an actual human person, 118 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: are fascinating, Yes, yes, or even sometimes even the ones 119 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: like Betty Crocker. Betty Crocker is yeah it is, yeah, 120 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: well right right seats some some are. Some are fascinating 121 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: because they're a real person, and some are fascinating because 122 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 1: they're not. Yes, yes, people believe. It's so hard they 123 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: cry when they get to the headquarters and they're told 124 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: the truth. Oh no, they do. Yes, there's a so 125 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: there's always a Betty Crocker on site. There's a woman 126 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: you know, doing the roll of Bretty Crocker. And she says, 127 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: I write an interview with one of the more recent ones, 128 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 1: and she says she always has a box of tissues 129 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:41,200 Speaker 1: for when people find out Betty Crocker isn't real. Yeah, no, sure, 130 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: sure that you know, like like people get really wrapped 131 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: up in in in food, food culture, and in in 132 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: personalities and uh characters, and so yeah, totally, yeah, I definitely. 133 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: I think it's more like they don't think that's really 134 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,560 Speaker 1: well obviously probably they don't think that's really Betty Crocker, 135 00:08:57,600 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: but they thought she was based on a real person. 136 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 1: When being a housewife is pretty much the occupation for 137 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,319 Speaker 1: a lot of women, and you were alone and you 138 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:08,239 Speaker 1: didn't have the internet. Betty Crocker was this really comforting 139 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: voice that you could listen to them, and people formed 140 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: a connection with her. Um. I totally see it. I 141 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:22,440 Speaker 1: totally see it. Ah. Anyway, future episode yeah, yeah, y'all 142 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,760 Speaker 1: talked about her though over on a stuff Mom never 143 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,719 Speaker 1: told you, right, Yes, yes we did, so you can 144 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: go check that out if you're interested, and our future 145 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 1: episode over here. But yes, yes, now we have It's 146 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:40,199 Speaker 1: a very small number of numbers, yes, but still they 147 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: count as numbers. They do well. It's it's hard to 148 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: track down solid continual numbers for a product like this 149 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: because these markets are real volatile. I think that the 150 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: boy or D brand makes something like over three and 151 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: fifty million dollars in sales per year as often, and 152 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,560 Speaker 1: that it had done that for a long time, and 153 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: that then there was a dip, which we'll talk about 154 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 1: in the history section, but that's kind of back where 155 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: they are now. And as of they held of the 156 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:25,839 Speaker 1: market share of prepared pasta Wow. Yeah yeah, all right, 157 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 1: all right, Chef boyar D. Well, that's where they are now. 158 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: But how did they get there? Uh, we will let 159 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: you know, but first we'll take a quick break for 160 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:49,080 Speaker 1: word from our sponsor. And we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes, 161 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 1: thank you, And we're back with the history of One 162 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: to Hector. So. I looked up the Italian and I 163 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: find it fascinating being that even I've listened to it 164 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 1: several times, my association, my Americanized association with this product 165 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:11,119 Speaker 1: is so strong that I keep finding myself slipping into 166 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: saying it more like Boiarty Boyarty. And that's as we 167 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: talked about in our regular episode. That's one of the 168 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: reasons he changed it. Yeah, because salespeople and customers couldn't 169 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: pronounce it. So yeah, and um and Hector was was 170 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 1: not the name that he was technically born with a 171 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 1: thor uh was the Italian version, and it got switched 172 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,839 Speaker 1: over probably when he came through Ellis Island. But I 173 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: imagine when he came through Ellis Island, although he might 174 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: he might have changed himself. Yes, yes, so disclaimer out there. 175 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: I'm going to try to pronounce it closer to the 176 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: Italian way, but I feel like, yeah, I think I'm 177 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: gonna slip as we go through. Um so Briarty was 178 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:02,319 Speaker 1: born in in Or, in Italy, and the stories around 179 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 1: this kid would have you believing that he knew he 180 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 1: was going to be a chef from birth, that he 181 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 1: used a whisk as a rattle, that he was an 182 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,200 Speaker 1: apprentice for a chef in a hotel by the age eleven, 183 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: which sounds like one of those sitcoms where the child 184 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: prodigy becomes a doctor at age nine or whatever. And 185 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: like you said, Lauren, there are so many legends and 186 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,679 Speaker 1: marketing things hard to say. It is it is Uh. 187 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:32,760 Speaker 1: Piacenza specifically is their hometown in in Italy, and and 188 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 1: times were different than According to his grand niece Anna, 189 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 1: all the brothers of the Boyartie family were all working 190 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,680 Speaker 1: in restaurants by like age eight. So if that's accurate, 191 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,520 Speaker 1: then it's not like impossible to see how he was 192 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:57,120 Speaker 1: given an apprenticeship by age eleven. Um, but who mysteries history. Indeed, Uh, 193 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:00,559 Speaker 1: in nineteen fourteen, at the age of sixteen, already made 194 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: the journey to Ellis Island in search of opportunities, and 195 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 1: he started at the kitchen in New York's famous and 196 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: swanky Plaza hotel, where his older brother Paul was the 197 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:14,600 Speaker 1: major d A year later, he made head chef, and 198 00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 1: he was hired away soon after to be the head 199 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:22,320 Speaker 1: chef at Barbetta, a restaurant still in operation to this day. 200 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:27,680 Speaker 1: According to his New York Times obituary, he catered the 201 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:31,439 Speaker 1: wedding reception of President Woodrow Wilson and his second wife 202 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifteen at West Virginia's Greenboro Hotel, which was 203 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: a very elite resort um. Just a reminder, if this 204 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 1: is true, he had only been in the US for 205 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:44,200 Speaker 1: about a year and was seventeen years old. Somewhere in there. 206 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 1: Apparently the Wilsons were so thrilled with Poiart's work they 207 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,079 Speaker 1: cast him with catering the meal for two thousand soldiers 208 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:58,320 Speaker 1: returning home from World War One and nineteen eighteen. Oh yeah, 209 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: he moved to Cleveland, Ohio and nineteen seventeen and starting 210 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,160 Speaker 1: a job managing the kitchen at Hotel Winton, He along 211 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: with his new wife Helen, opened a restaurant of their 212 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 1: own in nineteen four called Giardino Did Taia did Taia, 213 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: or the Garden of Italy. It quickly became a popular 214 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 1: staple in Cleveland. People waited in line to get in 215 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:23,120 Speaker 1: it really made a name for itself pretty quickly, and 216 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: the dish this restaurant was most well known for was 217 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:31,680 Speaker 1: this freshly made spaghetti topped with cheese. People loved it, 218 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 1: loved it. They loved it so much that they wanted 219 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 1: to make it at home. So Bo already started offering 220 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: take home kits with dry pasta, cheese and marinarro sauce, 221 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,520 Speaker 1: along with the instructions on how to cook it. Um. 222 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: I think in the beginning he spent a lot of 223 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: his in heavy quotes free time uh ladling the marin 224 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 1: era into clean bottles of milk would have been for 225 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: milk um uh yeah. Yeah. It was such a mass 226 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,320 Speaker 1: of hit that eventually, like that, became untenable to keep 227 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 1: doing um so much so the profits from takeout began 228 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: to eclipse some money he made from dining customers, and 229 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: this gave him an idea. With the help of some 230 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: regular patrons that owned a local grocery store chain, he 231 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 1: figured out the canning process and linked up with a 232 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: national distributor. Uh. And there's a story that was written 233 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,920 Speaker 1: by one Robert L. Wolke Um that went up in 234 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:33,120 Speaker 1: the Washington Post about Poorty contacting this Indiana Canning Company, 235 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,200 Speaker 1: all like, I run a restaurant in Cleveland and I'm 236 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 1: catering parties by putting my spaghetti in a bucket. Can 237 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: spaghetti get canned? Uh? And the employee, the the author's 238 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: father who he contacted there, was like, well, you can 239 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,000 Speaker 1: can almost anything, but I don't know what it would 240 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 1: taste like. Let's try. I love it. I love it. 241 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: I believe we discussed in our UH tomato episode that 242 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,440 Speaker 1: there is the acid into patoes. Was kind of tricky 243 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: for people to figure out out a can yeah for 244 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: a minute. So well it worked out. Boiardi and his 245 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: brothers got a small processing plant up and running, and 246 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:18,040 Speaker 1: the Chef Boiardi Food Company was born, and it spelled 247 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:22,800 Speaker 1: with the Italian spelling and its original iteration um. The 248 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:26,200 Speaker 1: first product they offered was a carton of spaghetti dinner. 249 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: So this was a jar spaghetti sauce, a box of 250 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 1: spaghetti complete with a package of Parmesan cheese. And it 251 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:39,240 Speaker 1: came in three styles of sauce, traditional mushroom and spicy 252 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 1: Naples style, which I'm very intrigued by. UM. The kids 253 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,960 Speaker 1: sold well, but Boiardi noticed that his American salespeople, yes, 254 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: and customers had trouble with the name, so he changed 255 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 1: it to the phonetic boy r D. Because these products 256 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: were inexpensive, tasty, and easy to make, they became a 257 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: popular option during the Great Depression and this helped introduce 258 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 1: Italian food two people across the United States, and the 259 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,440 Speaker 1: ingredients he used were fairly high quality. The company was 260 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:14,199 Speaker 1: one of the biggest importers of Italian olive oil and 261 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:19,679 Speaker 1: Parmesan cheese, and they relocated to Milton, Pennsylvania. When the 262 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,879 Speaker 1: farmers there agreed to grow a particular tomato type for 263 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 1: the company, they grew their own mushrooms to At its peak, 264 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: the factor was turning out two hundred and fifty thousand 265 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:34,719 Speaker 1: cans a day. Who Yes, As we said in our 266 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: regular episode, Boyarty was commissioned by the US military four 267 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 1: rations for the Army during World War Two. In response, 268 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: the factory expanded their operation hours to twenty four hours 269 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,679 Speaker 1: a day producing cans of spaghetti. For this work, he 270 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 1: was awarded the Gold Star for Civilian Service, which is 271 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,640 Speaker 1: one of the tops honors civilians can receive for service 272 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 1: to the US military. M HM Barti's smiling face was 273 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 1: featured on the packaging from the get go, appearing in 274 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:07,719 Speaker 1: print ads and later some of the very first television commercials. 275 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:11,960 Speaker 1: In this way, he became one of the first celebrity chefs. 276 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: By six the demand for these products had reached such 277 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: a point that Briarty was ready to sell the company, 278 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 1: and he also wanted to find a way to keep 279 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 1: on the extra staff he'd hired to keep up with 280 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:26,880 Speaker 1: the extended hours of World War Two. At the time, 281 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: there were five thousand employees. Let's cell He did to 282 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:35,239 Speaker 1: American Home Products for six million dollars. Briarty stayed on 283 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 1: as a consultant until nineteen seventy eight. At the time 284 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:42,480 Speaker 1: of sale, the company was making about twenty million dollars 285 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:47,320 Speaker 1: a year. Huh. I know, I just keep saying that 286 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:50,440 Speaker 1: this episode, but so many of these numbers are so huge. UM. 287 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:52,920 Speaker 1: I did want to put in here that some at 288 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,520 Speaker 1: some point during the sixties and seventies, the Chef Boyard 289 00:18:55,920 --> 00:19:01,399 Speaker 1: brand uh expanded to frozen pizzas. Uh. But then those 290 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:07,760 Speaker 1: went away and are merely a sweet frozen memory echoes 291 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:14,520 Speaker 1: of food past lost forever. Um along with his son Mario, 292 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: Board also opened a flooring and tile company called Bardi Products, 293 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:24,439 Speaker 1: which is still around to this day. Uh yeah, I 294 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:27,399 Speaker 1: looked it up. That's a nice picture of the storefront. 295 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:33,919 Speaker 1: Boy already died at age seven. In Night, Milton put 296 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: up a statue in his honor in and I have 297 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 1: I have here as Seinfeld reference that I think is 298 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,760 Speaker 1: the very first time that I've ever beat you to 299 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:51,400 Speaker 1: putting a Seinfeld reference into um into an outline. Okay, 300 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:57,520 Speaker 1: So in the Seinfeld episode the Hot Tub, the original 301 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: script called for Cramer feed the horse. Kramer is feeding 302 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: this horse, and he fed it be FARRONI in the 303 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:10,320 Speaker 1: original script, um. But the Boyardi company objected, And so 304 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: that's how the name of the product on the show 305 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:17,200 Speaker 1: on the final airing of the episode was b Farino. 306 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 1: It gave the horse a lot of gas. Give it 307 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:26,720 Speaker 1: gives the horse a lot of gas. Yeah. As of May, 308 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 1: which which is only like a year or so out 309 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,560 Speaker 1: from the show from Seinfeld ending, Chef Boyarty was the 310 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:37,120 Speaker 1: only company to ever turn down to mention on the show. Wow. 311 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,399 Speaker 1: Although to be fair, I guess they only they only checked, 312 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,160 Speaker 1: like their legal team only checked when they thought someone 313 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: might have an objection. And I guess that, you know, 314 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 1: a very flatulent horse is a pretty fair objection to 315 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:56,320 Speaker 1: the use of your product. Yeah. Sure, it's not like 316 00:20:56,359 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: that product comes out with the best light the end 317 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 1: of that. No. No, Yeah, also got beef aino is 318 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:09,879 Speaker 1: just very funny to say out loud. So I'm really 319 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 1: glad that Cheff Warward d pushed back. Yes, is excellent. 320 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for bringing the Seinfeld memory back 321 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 1: to me. This is great. I suspect it's the first 322 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:28,639 Speaker 1: and only time, but that I'm glad. I'm glad I 323 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:33,440 Speaker 1: could help. Yes, thank you. Uh. In the year two thousand, 324 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:37,760 Speaker 1: con Agra would purchase the company that held the Chef 325 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: Boyard brand at the time, and all those sales remained 326 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: strong through the early two thousand's, thanks in part to 327 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,920 Speaker 1: more co branded tie ins like with the World Wrestling 328 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,640 Speaker 1: Federation and with NASCAR. Um Chef war Dy sales began 329 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: to dip over the next decade or so. A lot 330 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 1: of long standing brand name prepackaged food companies had fall 331 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,000 Speaker 1: to during this time due to a combination of factors. 332 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: Um you know, there was a greater emphasis on fresh 333 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,920 Speaker 1: foods and home cooking, and simultaneously, a lot of store 334 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:14,919 Speaker 1: brands came out with like more suitable, less expensive alternatives 335 00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:20,440 Speaker 1: to those relatively expensive brand names. Um. Even the then 336 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:25,160 Speaker 1: new chief executive of ConAgra one, Sean Connolly told Fox 337 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 1: Business back in a lot of what's crept into big 338 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:34,440 Speaker 1: companies is internal focus, bureaucracy, power point presentations the antithesis 339 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: of agility. Oh, swinging hard at power point right, I'm like, 340 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 1: thank you, sir, golf clap, Yes, yes, yes, that's funny. 341 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:51,280 Speaker 1: Reminds me of our well used to have this video 342 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:55,120 Speaker 1: series called Trapped in a Meeting. I feel like that's 343 00:22:55,119 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 1: sort of what he's absolutely. Oh, that's that's a weird, 344 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:04,520 Speaker 1: beautiful one. If y'all ever want to see Josh and 345 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: chuck of stuff, you should know um doing a very 346 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:16,560 Speaker 1: strange bit that I think is spectacular. Um. Also, I'm 347 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,320 Speaker 1: trying really hard not to laugh through the entire thing 348 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:24,199 Speaker 1: because our boss Connell, who is also sometimes an actor, 349 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: just got up and improv like forty five straight minutes 350 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 1: of absolute business bs. Yes, and it was hilarious, the 351 00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:37,879 Speaker 1: stuff of legends. Yeah, yeah, we were all trying to 352 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: keep straight face at any rate. Um in Uh Boyarty's 353 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,720 Speaker 1: grand niece Anna boyarti uh previously mentioned, released a book 354 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: called Delicious Memories, Risipes and Stories from the Chef Boyardi 355 00:23:54,440 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 1: family love In YouTube Lava picks, Uh, somewhat famous for 356 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:09,560 Speaker 1: uploading pictures of things being consumed by lava, uploaded a 357 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:13,920 Speaker 1: video of a can of Chef Boyardy ravioli getting consumed 358 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: by a flow of lava. This is not something I 359 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 1: knew existed. Ah, and now I want to check out immediately. Yeah, 360 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:31,639 Speaker 1: I mean, lava is pretty. Things exploding is funny in 361 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,880 Speaker 1: certain context. Well, okay, thank thank you. Annie. That's you're 362 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:40,399 Speaker 1: a better person than I am. Just looking out, just 363 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:49,280 Speaker 1: looking out. Appreciate it. In Chef Boyardy and their current 364 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:54,919 Speaker 1: parent company, ConAgra were sued for the use of deceptive advertising. 365 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:58,800 Speaker 1: They're labeling claimed their products were free of preservatives, but 366 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 1: they did in fact use a preservative by the name 367 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 1: of citric acid, which is present in all citrus fruits 368 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,680 Speaker 1: and even naturally produced in the human body. The plaintiff 369 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 1: behind the lawsuit was looking for five million dollars to 370 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:15,400 Speaker 1: be paid out to any purchasers of Chef Boyarty products 371 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:22,160 Speaker 1: in the preceding three years, but it was ultimately dismissed. Yeah, 372 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,320 Speaker 1: citric acid is one of those things that it's it's 373 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:28,480 Speaker 1: a it's a flavoring to I, it's both that that 374 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:31,640 Speaker 1: that's a separate episode anyway. Um. Yeah, it was around 375 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:35,240 Speaker 1: that time or so that the brand really began emphasizing 376 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 1: Boyarti's story in in their advertising. They released a line 377 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 1: of throwback recipes that involved more premium ingredients like beef 378 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:51,440 Speaker 1: meatballs made with what sounds like like odd used to 379 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 1: make beef meatballs, um, instead of out of stuff like 380 00:25:55,880 --> 00:26:00,719 Speaker 1: a soy protein concentrate and mechanically separated chicken stuff like that. Right. 381 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:05,280 Speaker 1: They're also more expensive, um than the normal line and 382 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 1: tend to be even higher in fat and salt, which 383 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 1: I found interesting. That's yeah, I find that interesting too. 384 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,159 Speaker 1: Of like, when I was a kid, I much preferred 385 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: home style chicken noodle slop, but you know it was 386 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:22,439 Speaker 1: in a can. It's just the addition of home style. 387 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:26,280 Speaker 1: It cracks me up. Yeah. Yeah, and and that's the 388 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,720 Speaker 1: same thing. These are still canned products, but sure. The 389 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: campaign for this line's release UM involved a song with 390 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 1: an accompanying music video, and this song is called start 391 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:49,440 Speaker 1: the Party, uh huh, and it features Donny Osmond and 392 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:55,440 Speaker 1: Lil Yati. Oh that's not a mash up I was in. 393 00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: There's a lot of things going on here that I'm 394 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:03,080 Speaker 1: a little surprised by this song hit number three on 395 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:10,440 Speaker 1: Spotify's most popular playlist. What oh, I say with a 396 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,920 Speaker 1: question mark, I've got to check it out now. You 397 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:17,159 Speaker 1: were presenting a lot of cultural things that I have 398 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 1: missed and must be corrected. I could not even begin 399 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:27,560 Speaker 1: to imagine what this sounds like. You know, I honestly 400 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:29,560 Speaker 1: didn't look it up because I wasn't sure if I 401 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:34,680 Speaker 1: had the strength today for whatever that's going to look like. 402 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,320 Speaker 1: You need to be in the right place for sure. Yep, 403 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 1: watch out for your mental health, you know. Yeah, yeah, 404 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:48,560 Speaker 1: maybe one day you can return. I hope so, I 405 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 1: think so, you know, Oh gosh. The brand has overall 406 00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:59,200 Speaker 1: been seeing an uptick UM in sales over the past 407 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:02,520 Speaker 1: couple of years, and it did get a boost from 408 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen isolation from you know, people making a rush 409 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,720 Speaker 1: on shelf stable and nostalgic products. UM like stores have 410 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:16,040 Speaker 1: been selling out UM and ConAgra overall has increased production 411 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: across a lot of their brands also right now, as 412 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:24,879 Speaker 1: of like five days ago, UM, someone put up a 413 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:29,160 Speaker 1: petition on change dot org related to the Black Lives 414 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:33,200 Speaker 1: Matter movement. UM petition to replace the statue of Christopher 415 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,440 Speaker 1: Columbus that's in Cleveland's Tony Brush Park, which is in 416 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,200 Speaker 1: the city's Little Italy neighborhood. To replace the statue of 417 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: Columbus with a statue of boy Artie. And this petition 418 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: is really great. It makes a number of excellent points. 419 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:53,480 Speaker 1: I do want to quote for you the end of 420 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: the petition because I cannot think of a better way 421 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: to end this episode. It's time for Cleveland to remove 422 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 1: its statue to a genocidal sociopath with a bowl cut 423 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,680 Speaker 1: and erect a statue to an immigrant success story who 424 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:12,440 Speaker 1: enriched our community with his food and iconic mustache. Agreed, 425 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:18,640 Speaker 1: iconic mustache? Yes, um, I love it. Isn't there? Isn't 426 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:22,120 Speaker 1: there a petition to change the name of Columbus to 427 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 1: Flavor Town because Guy Fierti is from there. I have 428 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,840 Speaker 1: not seen that one, but that sounds like a thing 429 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:35,040 Speaker 1: that would exist. Nope, It's definitely a thing that exists. 430 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 1: It's got thousands of signatures. So can you imagine if 431 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 1: they if it comes Flavor Town and then you can 432 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:49,320 Speaker 1: go visit the chef Boyardy, that that would truly. I 433 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:54,280 Speaker 1: say this with only the smallest amount of irony, like 434 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 1: that would be beautiful, that would be really nice. That 435 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,120 Speaker 1: would make me so happy. And I'm not sure that 436 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:04,240 Speaker 1: the humans who live there would be as equally pleased 437 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:08,719 Speaker 1: with living in Flavortown, but I I would be psyched 438 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,760 Speaker 1: about that. Like if Atlanta was like, you know what, 439 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 1: we're flavor Town now, I would be like, strange pivot, 440 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:20,840 Speaker 1: but great. I just can't imagine like teaching your your 441 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 1: kids if you had kids, so I mean, hey, hey, 442 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,200 Speaker 1: they've got they've got to learn about flavor toown somehow. 443 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:40,960 Speaker 1: It's true, it's true, it's true. I think this is 444 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:45,520 Speaker 1: as good a place as any to to end this episode. 445 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:52,600 Speaker 1: That's that's clearly all we have to say. Oh, we 446 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,520 Speaker 1: we do have some listener mail for you, but first 447 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:58,400 Speaker 1: we've got one more quick break for a word from 448 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:11,160 Speaker 1: our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes, thank you, 449 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:24,680 Speaker 1: and we're back with beautiful. That was excellent, Annie together, 450 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 1: we were both excellent. Yes. Yes, Mike wrote, hello, I 451 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,240 Speaker 1: was listening to your podcast on Green Onions and you 452 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 1: brought up a garden mishap involving garlic, and you mentioned smell. 453 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:40,240 Speaker 1: I'd like to share with you my own gardening mishap 454 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:44,520 Speaker 1: involving garlic. I was living in southern Arkansas for three 455 00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:47,640 Speaker 1: years and had a great garden. I ended up taking 456 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 1: a job in my hometown in Illinois and moved. A 457 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: roommate was taking care of our Arkansas house and my 458 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:55,320 Speaker 1: garden until I was able to move everything to Illinois. 459 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:57,720 Speaker 1: By the time I got down there in the middle 460 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,640 Speaker 1: of the hot Arkansas summer, he had my garden go 461 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,240 Speaker 1: and it was full of weeds. Luckily, I was able 462 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:07,920 Speaker 1: to salvage my garlic. Once packed up, I picked said 463 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,960 Speaker 1: garlic plants and made the mistake of putting it in 464 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:13,720 Speaker 1: the U haul we had rented. Like I said, this 465 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:16,400 Speaker 1: was midsummer, with TIMPs in the upper nineties and a 466 00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 1: drive to Illinois of ten hours. You can imagine how 467 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,440 Speaker 1: bad it felt when I opened that tour in Illinois. 468 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:28,320 Speaker 1: All of the furniture reeked of garlic for months after, 469 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:31,680 Speaker 1: and my wife even had me throw some stuff out 470 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:35,160 Speaker 1: because it was so bad. Anyway, I thought you might 471 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,600 Speaker 1: get a chuckle out of my mistake, and yes, oh no, 472 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:43,280 Speaker 1: I'm yes, sorry, Uh, condolences, but that is quite funny, 473 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:48,640 Speaker 1: that's very very amusing. Oh No, though I had a 474 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:51,760 Speaker 1: similar incident. It wasn't as dis bad at all. But 475 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,920 Speaker 1: I took a road trip with a friend and we 476 00:32:55,080 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: were in Nevada. We stayed at in Vegas for we're 477 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:03,760 Speaker 1: five days, and we we were walking up to our 478 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:05,800 Speaker 1: car to leave, and we both had this moment where 479 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 1: we paused, looked at each other in horror and said 480 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,840 Speaker 1: at the same time, I kid you not the banas. 481 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,000 Speaker 1: And we had left this like a bunch of bananas 482 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 1: in there, and the smell was horrendous and we were 483 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:21,720 Speaker 1: like only halfway through our road trip. Oh wow, it 484 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:25,920 Speaker 1: was bad. And they had likemented into Google it was 485 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:29,400 Speaker 1: hard to go banana car. We call it the banana 486 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:39,719 Speaker 1: car incident. Oh oof, I get I'm trying to think 487 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 1: if I had I don't have anything in a motor 488 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:46,960 Speaker 1: vehicle like that. But um, the first time, like I was, 489 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:48,880 Speaker 1: I was like a young professional. I was like just 490 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:51,280 Speaker 1: out of college, and I was super proud of myself 491 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:53,760 Speaker 1: because I like I like with my like first paycheck, 492 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:55,280 Speaker 1: I like went and bought a crop pot and I 493 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:58,640 Speaker 1: felt really adult and everything. Um, And I think I 494 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 1: was so worked up about the entire experience that I 495 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,640 Speaker 1: wasn't paying attention to the recipe, and I put in 496 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:12,800 Speaker 1: so much more garlic than it called for, like like 497 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:18,280 Speaker 1: probably like it probably called for like one or two clothes, 498 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:23,640 Speaker 1: and I probably put in like ahead. I was just like, 499 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:26,160 Speaker 1: this seems like a lot, but that's going to be delicious. 500 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 1: I love garlic. And yeah, within like within like an hour, 501 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:36,799 Speaker 1: it was. It was bad to the point that, yes, 502 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 1: it was a garlic apartment for at least a week. 503 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:44,520 Speaker 1: That's a that was life trying to keep you humble. Uh, 504 00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:48,320 Speaker 1: it was. It was you know, I'm not going to 505 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:53,279 Speaker 1: say that I needed that right then. Sure, but but 506 00:34:53,440 --> 00:35:00,440 Speaker 1: the but the lesson, the lesson is always welcome. Indeed, Uh, 507 00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:04,320 Speaker 1: Maggie wrote, I was listening to your green Onions Scallions 508 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 1: episode and it set me down memory lane. I currently 509 00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:10,480 Speaker 1: reside in California, but was born and raised in Taiwan, 510 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:13,719 Speaker 1: and green onions were staple items. They're they're often used 511 00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:16,719 Speaker 1: as toppings for food, soup, porridge, grilled meat, even the 512 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:20,560 Speaker 1: infamous stinky tofu. But as you mentioned in the episode, 513 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 1: green onions are often used to make scallion pancakes and 514 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:26,440 Speaker 1: they've been one of my favorite food items. This historic 515 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:28,800 Speaker 1: food item originally meant for farmers to eat on the 516 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:32,440 Speaker 1: go has become an iconic street food here in Taiwan. 517 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:34,920 Speaker 1: You can always find a street food vendor selling scallion 518 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:39,120 Speaker 1: pancakes near tourist attractions. Some vendors even became so famous 519 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:42,800 Speaker 1: that they are the attraction. There are lots of varieties, including, 520 00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:46,960 Speaker 1: but not limited to, scallion with fried egg, pancake, thousand layers, 521 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:50,960 Speaker 1: scallion pancake, thick scallion pancake like about an inch um, 522 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:54,759 Speaker 1: and exploding egg scallion pancake. The The exploding egg is 523 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:57,080 Speaker 1: where they wrap an egg within the pancake and deep 524 00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 1: fry it just enough that the outside is crispy, but 525 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,359 Speaker 1: the yolk is running, so it explodes when you bite 526 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: in side note, exploding egg is a homonym to bomb 527 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:10,520 Speaker 1: in Mandarin. All of that is to say that I 528 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:13,520 Speaker 1: missed Taiwan and my family. I live here alone, and 529 00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:15,879 Speaker 1: with the current situation, I don't think I'd be able 530 00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:18,919 Speaker 1: to go back anytime soon, So typing all of these 531 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,480 Speaker 1: out is sort of helping me cope with my homesickness. Ps. 532 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,000 Speaker 1: Scallion is such a prominent plant here that my brother 533 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:28,520 Speaker 1: Jim Wants vowed to make a scallion craft beer out 534 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:36,400 Speaker 1: of his brewery in Taiwan. It's called Jim and Dad's 535 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:45,600 Speaker 1: for anyone who's looking for breweries in Taiwan. Right, I 536 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:50,719 Speaker 1: would like to try that? Yes, I would, I would. 537 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:54,160 Speaker 1: I would definitely like to try that. That sounds, you know, 538 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:56,719 Speaker 1: like there's there's a lot of flavors and especially kind 539 00:36:56,719 --> 00:36:59,600 Speaker 1: of like coppy beers, um, pale ales and etcetera. That 540 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:02,040 Speaker 1: that of like kind of like grassy notes. And Scalion 541 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:04,800 Speaker 1: also has some grassy notes. I would be be interested 542 00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:07,799 Speaker 1: to see what would what would happen there? I would? 543 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:12,399 Speaker 1: And all those scaling pancakes sound delicious, so oh yes, 544 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:19,040 Speaker 1: all right, the cravings are setting in. Thanks to both 545 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:21,200 Speaker 1: of them for writing in. If you would like to 546 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,480 Speaker 1: write to us, you can Our email is Hello at 547 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: savor pod dot com. We're also on social media. You 548 00:37:26,239 --> 00:37:29,360 Speaker 1: can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at savor 549 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:32,560 Speaker 1: pod and we do hope to hear from you. Savor 550 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:34,960 Speaker 1: is production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts to my 551 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,200 Speaker 1: heart Radio, you can visit the I Heart Radio app, 552 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,600 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 553 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:44,520 Speaker 1: Thanks as always to our superproducers Dylan Fagin and Andrew Howard. 554 00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:46,440 Speaker 1: Thanks to you for listening, and we hope that lots 555 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:47,839 Speaker 1: more good things are coming your way.