Who invented nachos?

Ignacio Anaya invented nachos in 1943.

Anaya was a Mexican maître d’hôtel working at the Victory Club restaurant in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, near the Texas border. According to the commonly told origin story, a group of American military officers’ wives visited the restaurant while the cook was unavailable. Anaya improvised a snack from fried pieces of corn tortilla, cheese, and sliced pickled jalapeños.

The dish was first known as “Nacho’s Special,” using Anaya’s nickname, Nacho, which is a familiar Spanish form of Ignacio. As the snack grew popular, it spread across the border and throughout the American Southwest. Anaya later opened his own restaurant in Piedras Negras.

Modern nachos can include meat, beans, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes, olives, and many other toppings. The original preparation was simpler: tortilla pieces, melted cheese, and jalapeños. The inventor’s full name is sometimes given as Ignacio Anaya García, but “Ignacio Anaya” is the standard answer to this quiz question.