16 Foods You've Probably Eaten But Didn't Know They Were Named After A Real Person

Chef Boyardee was a very real, very successful chef.

1. Chef Boyardee:

Chef Boyardee

The famous canned pasta is named after its founder, Hector Boiardi, who, after becoming a successful chef in New York City, opened his own restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio. There, he started making to-go containers for his customers to prepare at home. This was the beginning of the canned pasta we know and love.

2. Oscar Mayer:

Oscar Mayer

Oscar F. Mayer moved from Bavaria to the United States in 1873. He opened up his first meat shop in 1883, and made $59 dollars on the first day. The company has been around for over 125 years.

3. Marie Callender:

Marie Callender's

Marie Callender opened her first pie business in the 1940s in Orange, California, delivering pies. The first brick-and-mortar restaurant was opened in 1964 and served coffee and pies. Now, there are over 50 Marie Callender's restaurants and a delicious frozen food line.

4. Jimmy Dean:

Jimmy Dean, William Morris Agency / Via en.wikipedia.org

Jimmy Dean did, like, everything. He was a singer/songwriter, a businessman, and a TV host. However, he was also known for having a very successful sausage line. The country music singer started Jimmy Dean Sausages in 1969.

5. Duncan Hines:

Duncan Hines

Duncan Hines got his popularity from a book he wrote called Adventures in Good Eating. He soon teamed up with Roy Park to make canned, bottled, and boxed food for families. In no time at all, boxed cakes were added to the line of products, and the rest is history.

6. Baskin-Robbins:

Baskin-Robbins

Baskin-Robbins was started when brothers-in-law Burton Baskin and Irvine Robbins set out to capitalize on America's love of ice cream. They started out with their own shops, named Snowbird Ice Cream and Burton's Ice Cream, but merged them in 1953 to create Baskin-Robbins 31.

7. Ghiradelli:

Ghiradelli

In 1849, Domenico Ghirardelli moved to Stockton, California from Italy to open up a store to sell confections to miners. In 1852, he opened Ghirardely & Girard in San Francisco, which later began the Ghiradelli Chocolate Company.

8. Guinness:

Guinness

The famous beer brand began in 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on a small property at St. James Gate, Ireland to brew ale. He exported his first batch to England in 1769, and the company has been making Guinness ever since. His son, Arthur Guinness II, took over the company in 1803.

9. Kellogg's:

Kellogg's, WKKF / Via wkkf.org

Kellogg's cereal was first created when W.K. Kellogg found a way to flake corn. The first batch of Kellogg's Corn Flakes was made in 1906, and today, Kellogg's brand products are sold in over 180 countries around the world.

10. Wendy's:

Wendy's

Wendy Thomas is the person who the famous chain was named after. Her father, Dave Thomas, started Wendy's in 1969 and adopted his daughter's likeness for the logo. Dave's Hot n' Juicy burger on the menu is named after their founder.

11. Heinz:

Bain / Library of Congress

HJ Heinz was committed to making pure ketchup. That's why it's always sold in a clear bottle. The famous company was able to concoct a preservative-free ketchup in 1906, which was the first of its kind.

12. Ben & Jerry's:

Ben & Jerry's, Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images

After completing a correspondence in ice cream making from Pennsylvania State University, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield repurposed an old gas station and started a scoop shop in Burlington, Vermont. The company has been around since 1978.

13. McDonald's:

McDonald's, TheDailyWoo / Via youtube.com

While Ray Kroc is usually the person associated with McDonald's, the name actually comes from a restaurant he visited in San Bernardino, California that was run by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald. Kroc joined them as a franchising agent and by 1955, the idea of McDonald's was born.

14. Hormel:

Hormel

George A. Hormel founded Hormel in 1891. He remained the head of the company for 36 years, before retiring to California. His quote "Originate, don't imitate," guides the company to this day.

15. Orville Redenbacher:

Orville Redenbacher, Hunt-Wessen / Via en.wikipedia.org

Orville Redenbacher grew up on an Indiana farm, where he started growing his own popping corn. He turned it into a business, earning himself enough money to go to college and earn a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from Purdue University. Today, his microwave popcorn is the perfect accompaniment to my Netflix binge.

16. Little Debbie:

Little Debbie, Women of Distinction / Via alamid.ejoinme.org

Little Debbie started in 1960 when O.D. McKee was looking for a new name for his brand of baked snack cakes. He settled on the name of his 4-year-old daughter and used a picture of her as the brand's logo.