Which U.S. chef created the canned pasta brand later known for spaghetti and meatballs?

Ettore Boiardi created the canned pasta brand later known as Chef Boyardee.

Boiardi was an Italian-American chef who built his food business from his Cleveland restaurant, Il Giardino d'Italia. Customers began asking to take home his spaghetti sauce, so he first sold it in milk bottles before developing a scalable packaged-food operation with his brothers and local grocery partners.

In 1928, the company introduced a ready-to-heat spaghetti kit containing dry pasta, tomato sauce, and grated cheese. Boiardi used the phonetic brand spelling “Boy-Ar-Dee” because he believed English-speaking customers would find his surname easier to pronounce that way.

The brand later became known for canned meals such as spaghetti and meatballs, but the founder's actual surname was Boiardi. “Hector Boyardee” was an anglicized name, not a different chef; “Franco Rossi” and “Hector Boyard” are incorrect alternatives.