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The Best Episodes of The Food That Built America

Every episode of The Food That Built America ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Food That Built America!

The Best Episodes of The Food That Built America

The fascinating stories of the families behind the food that built America, those who used brains, muscle, blood, sweat and tears to get to America's...

Seasons6

  1. Background image for The Spoils of War
    8.2/10(92 votes)

    #1 - The Spoils of War

    S1:E3

    As the Great Depression hits, the titans of food push the envelope of innovation to feed a hungry nation. Then WWII sees competing industrial empires joining the war effort in a united front to fuel the forces fighting for freedom abroad. And in Post-War America, visionaries like Harland Sanders, the McDonald brothers and Ray Kroc battle to revolutionize the restaurant industry, and pave the way for the golden age of the American dream.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Best Served Cold
    8.1/10(115 votes)

    #2 - Best Served Cold

    S1:E2

    At the dawn of the 20th Century, a new breed of innovator rises up to expand American industry and push the limits of new technology. A trailblazer named Milton Hershey bets big on a revolutionary idea, and then a father and son duo named Mars start on a path to challenge the chocolate throne. Plus, the titans of food weather the storm of the First World War and push the boundaries of invention in the Roaring Twenties.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Lines in the Sand
    7.9/10(141 votes)

    #3 - Lines in the Sand

    S1:E1

    In the wake of the Civil War, a revolution takes place on the backs of visionary entrepreneurs of industry like Heinz, Kellogg and Post; they push the limits of ingenuity to launch businesses that will revolutionize industry.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Pizza Wars
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #4 - Pizza Wars

    S2:E1

    In the 1950s, two brothers from Wichita, Kan., aim to build their restaurant, Pizza Hut, by introducing America to Italian dish-pizza. Americans soon fall in love with their pizza, but rival, Domino's, threatens to derail their success.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for The Chocolate Rush
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #5 - The Chocolate Rush

    S2:E2

    In 1919, Milton Hershey is king of the chocolate, but everything changes when sugar prices drop in the new post-WWI era. Competitors spring up, including Hershey's former employee HB Reese, who goes on to create one of the bestselling candies ever.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for The Kings of Burgers
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #6 - The Kings of Burgers

    S2:E3

    In the 1950s, Ray Kroc franchises McDonald's nationwide, but right behind Kroc, a wave of other entrepreneurs try to cash in on the fast-food restaurant craze. Two Florida visionaries start up what will become Kroc's biggest rival, by re-inventing their kitchen's equipment into the pioneering "flame broiler."

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Food That Built America

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  8. Background image for American Cheese
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #7 - American Cheese

    S2:E4

    At the turn of the 20th century, James Kraft challenges centuries of cheese-making tradition and forever alters the dairy industry with his new cheese innovation. Meanwhile, the Pabst brothers are desperate to keep their successful beer empire solvent through Prohibition.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Cola Wars
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Cola Wars

    S2:E5

    In the 1970s, one major cola brand launches a blind taste test marketing plan that takes direct aim at their biggest competitor. As a new era of competition heats up between the behemoth brands, each side selects a new leader who takes the companies to battle in a rivalry that will birth countless iconic soda products and memorable marketing stunts.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Chip Dynasties
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Chip Dynasties

    S2:E6

    Herman Lay takes regional and small-time chips business to a national scale with his cutting-edge sales techniques and world-changing packaging technology, while a rival innovator invents a new kind of snack chip that will challenge Lay's crown.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Cookie Wars
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Cookie Wars

    S2:E7

    A business partnership gone wrong leads Adolphus Green to create one of the most iconic cookie and cracker companies in history, and revolutionize packaging.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Soup Wars
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Soup Wars

    S2:E8

    The fascinating stories of the families behind the food that built America, those who used brains, muscle, blood, sweat and tears to get to America's heart through its stomach, those who invented new technologies and helped win wars.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Godfathers of Fast Food
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Godfathers of Fast Food

    S2:E9

    A short order chef invents the hamburger bun and engineers a new way of making a burger faster than ever before; Nathan Handwerker invests his life savings into a hot dog stand at Coney Island.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for The TV Dinner
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #13 - The TV Dinner

    S2:E10

    Gilbert Swanson inherits his father's frozen turkey company and partners with a food chemist to innovate a revolutionary dinner that Americans can heat up at home... they call it the TV Dinner. And when a restauranteur named Vernon Stouffer tries to bring his frozen meals to market, he's blown out of the water by the TV Dinner... until he harnesses a new technology called...the microwave.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Ice Cream Empires
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Ice Cream Empires

    S2:E11

    A young boy accidentally discovers a frozen treat on a stick, and grows up to bring an endearing classic to the world. Plus, a candy store owner radically re-invents ice cream and launches the first ever ice cream truck. But when both men own a patent on the same thing, the resulting battle will destroy one man, and cement the other's fortune.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for A Game of Chicken
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #15 - A Game of Chicken

    S2:E12

    In the 1970's, Ray Kroc is far ahead of the competition. But when a burger chain claiming to be king poaches his third-highest ranking executive, Don Smith, it's war. Smith re-engineers the emerging rival, using the best ideas of his former franchise to modernize the brand. In an unprecedented move, Ray Kroc brings on a world renowned chef to develop the chicken nugget, breakfast, and try to crush the would-be king once and for all.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for When the Chips Are Down
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #16 - When the Chips Are Down

    S2:E13

    As C.E. Doolin and Herman Lay are out to prove the potential of the chips business in the 1950's, their success inspires one of the biggest companies in the world to enter the chip market. When a chemist begins work on a secret project, designing a strong, saddle-shaped chip and a revolutionary container to ship them in, the companies go head to head for market dominance.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for The Rise of a Rival
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #17 - The Rise of a Rival

    S2:E14

    When candy company president Charles Guth gets shafted by a Cola salesman, he decides to buy a bankrupt rival company and go to war with the supplier who wronged him and its new CEO, the maverick businessman Robert Woodruff. The battle will help shape the world of soda for decades to come.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Gum Slingers
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Gum Slingers

    S2:E15

    William Wrigley stumbles upon a new product that will kickstart a revolution across industries, but not before sparking a life-long rivalry.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Breakfast Barons
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Breakfast Barons

    S2:E16

    Dr. John Kellogg and his brother start a revolution in breakfast, while rival C.W. Post takes direct aim at an empire of his own. And the creation of an iconic food comes at a cost, as the brothers’ relationship reaches a boiling point under the weight of their success.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Submarine Warfare
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Submarine Warfare

    S3:E1

    High School friends see an alternative to fast food with the "submarine" sandwich. But they are quickly met with the fierce competition of a new submarine joint, started by a physicist, that is trying to perfect the art of the franchise, and will go on to be the biggest restaurant chain in the world.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for A Cold One
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #21 - A Cold One

    S3:E2

    In the late 1800s, German immigrants Joseph Schlitz and Captain Frederick Pabst find themselves in a battle for beer dominance. In their fight for one upmanship they will help create the most popular alcoholic beverage on the planet, introduce lager beer to the nation, and become two of the biggest companies on Earth for half a century.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Do or Donut
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Do or Donut

    S3:E3

    When a commercial caterer realizes his two best selling items are donuts and coffee, he joins forces with his brother-in-law to create a revolutionary donut chain; soon a rivalry starts with a beloved Southern-based donut shop.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for A Dish Best Served... Soft
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #23 - A Dish Best Served... Soft

    S3:E4

    When his ice cream truck breaks down, Tom Carvel discovers that half-melted ice cream is a surefire hit with customers.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for The Best Thing Since...
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #24 - The Best Thing Since...

    S3:E5

    In a quest to dominate the growing commercial bread industry, Lee Marshall bets on a new kind of white loaf, unwittingly inspiring a homemaker named Margaret Rudkin to come up with a healthier alternative.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Cookie Fortunes
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Cookie Fortunes

    S3:E6

    Hollywood agent Wally Amos transforms his professional life when he decides to make and sell his own gourmet chocolate chip cookies, and opens America's first cookie store; housewife Debbi Fields opens her homestyle cookie shop in a mall.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Best Episodes Summary

"The Spoils of War" is the best rated episode of "The Food That Built America". It scored 8.2/10 based on 92 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 8/13/2019. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Best Served Cold".