Betty Crocker is America’s Most Famous Chef. The Thing Is, She Doesn’t Actually Exist!

The arrival of artificial intelligence has made it almost normal for characters who don't exist in reality to appear. But, at the beginning of the 20th century, something like this would have been out of the ordinary, like X-Files: and yet, the woman who was and still is considered one of the most famous American chefs of all time, in reality… doesn't exist. Her name is Betty Crocker and in this article we'll tell you her story.

Who is America's Most Famous Chef And How Was She Born?

White skin, hair tied at the nape of the neck, a red dress and always something white around the neck: this is how Betty Crocker appears even if, small irrelevant detail, she doesn't exist. The story begins in 1921 when the Washburn-Crosby Company (later General Mills) launched Gold Medal flour on the market: the advertisement that was designed for the launch of the product asked consumers to complete a puzzle and then send it to the company, receiving a pincushion in the shape of a sack of flour as a gift.

The puzzles arrived and there were about 30,000 of them, but along with them also several hundred letters with cooking questions. And that's when one of the most successful marketing experiments ever was born: the advertising people convinced the administration to create a character who would answer all the questions of the housewives, placing her in their imagination as a friend from whom they could ask cooking advice. And so, taking the name Betty, considered cheerful and typically American, and the surname Crocker, in honor of the company director William Crocker, was born what for years was considered the best friend of all housewives and amateur cooks.

A Face, a Voice, a Radio Program, a Television Program and Several Best-Sellers

She was given a name, her signature was chosen from among the clerks, now all she needed was a face. But before that, she was given a voice: yes, because in 1924, the radio program called "The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air" went on the air for the first time . It was such a huge success that it was even broadcast nationally on NBC Radio, becoming the first radio cooking show in the history of the country.

To give her a face, however, we had to wait until 1936, the year in which the first image of Betty Crocker was commissioned: simple, with a kind face, resembling that of a sweet and caring mother. But it was in 1949 that she acquired the appearance of a real person, when she had her own television program entitled "Betty Crocker Star Matinee" in which she was played by the actress Adelaide Hawley Cumming.

But even before television came success in print: the first book signed Crocker was published in 1930 and was called "101 Delicious Bisquick Creations", after her first baking mix was launched, a preparation for sweets called, precisely, Bisquick (from the fusion of biscuit, and quick, "fast"). Also under her signature was the first hardcover recipe book, entitled "Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook" and it was a huge success, becoming one of the best-selling cookbooks in the history of the United States. This was followed by dozens of recipe books and even, a few years ago, in 2015, about 17 recipe collections were printed under her name.

A woman and a cook who managed to conquer the hearts of all Americans, as she was, until the 90s, more or less, when political correctness (and today we know something about it) began to spread: the image of the woman with white skin and blue eyes began to annoy all those ethnic minorities present in the country. So what to do? Her features were slightly changed, in 1996, representing her with olive skin, dark and slightly almond-shaped eyes and black hair.

As Famous as Eleanor Roosevelt

Americans adored her: they loved the figure of a sweet and reassuring woman who accompanied them with advice and recipes, especially during the difficult years of the war. Her figure became so important that, in 1945, Betty Crocker ended up on the list of the most popular women in the United States of America compiled by Fortune Magazine, second only to the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, which earned her the nickname "America's First Lady of Food".

Even though everyone (or almost everyone) knows that Mrs. Crocker doesn't exist, her fame continues to grow: even today, she is one of the most famous American brands of cake mixes. Muffins, carrot cakes, cupcakes, chocolate cakes, cookies, red velvet: if you are in America and want to go for a sure thing when it comes to desserts, Betty Crocker is always the most reliable choice.