BIOGRAPHY: Hector Boiardi, an Italian chef, came to Cleveland's then-new Hotel Winton in 1917. His spaghetti dinners were soon the talk of the town.
In 1924, he and his wife, Helen, opened Giardino d'Italia at East 9th Street and Woodland Avenue. When customers asked for carry-out pasta, he opened a second kitchen, and in 1928, a factory. It turned out 60-cent, packaged Chef Boy-ar-dee Italian dinners - canned "secret" spaghetti sauce, dry spaghetti and grated Parmesan. He sold the line in the '40s.
In 1931, he also opened Chef Boiardi's (later Chef Hector's) at 823 Prospect Ave., to offer "good food at modest prices." During World War II, at the government's request, he developed field rations. In 1946, he tried, unsuccessfully, to sell compressed restaurant scraps or "barnyard ravioli" as animal food. Later he made a fortune in the steel business.

BIOGRAPHY: Source: CLEVELAND FOOD FAMILIES
Plain Dealer, The (Cleveland, OH)December 1, 1991Author: JANET BEIGHLE FRENCH PLAIN DEALER REPORTER

1. Mario J. BOIARDI b. of Queenstown,, Maryland.

1. 1. Hector J. BOIARDI b. 22 Oct 1897, Piacenza,, Italy; d. 21 Jun 1985, Parma, Cuyahoga, Ohio.