7.1/1064 votesLoading...#1 - Breakfast Barons
Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 6/27/2021
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/1039 votesLoading...#2 - American Spirits
Season 4 Episode 10 - Aired 4/23/2023
Two entrepreneurs rise from the ashes of Prohibition by staking everything on two liquors -- a bitter, bottom-shelf whisky, and a flavorless foreign moonshine -- and go on to save an industry and create two of the most popular brands in the country.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/1056 votesLoading...#3 - Flight of the Buffalo Wing
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 3/5/2023
Before chicken wings were America's favorite Sunday football snack, they were considered an undesirable cut of meat. Until two restaurateurs in Buffalo, New York, reinvent the way wings are cooked.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/1045 votesLoading...#4 - Holiday Treats
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 2/26/2023
The top selling candy days of the year revolve around Easter, Valentine's Day and Halloween. And it all started with a few bold pioneers.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1060 votesLoading...#5 - Gum Slingers
Season 2 Episode 15 - Aired 6/20/2021
William Wrigley stumbles upon a new product that will kickstart a revolution across industries, but not before sparking a life-long rivalry.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1047 votesLoading...#6 - Breakfast That Pops
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 2/19/2023
Two heavy-hitting cereal rivals duke it out for breakfast dominance; competition heats up when an idea is stolen; the ensuing battle transforms the breakfast landscape from a labor intensive meal at the table, to a meal of convenience on the go.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1046 votesLoading...#7 - Candy Revolution
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 3/12/2023
A cereal executive's bold idea to finance the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie will kick-off a candy revolution that produces some of the most iconic, imaginative confections in history.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/1066 votesLoading...#8 - Ice Cream Empires
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 4/18/2021
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/1062 votesLoading...#9 - The Rise of a Rival
Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 6/13/2021
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/1040 votesLoading...#10 - When Food Freezes Over
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 4/2/2023
Four intrepid food entrepreneurs race to harness emerging technologies like the home freezer and microwave, to bring revolutionary frozen snack icons to a waiting world, and forever change what we eat, when we eat, and how we eat.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/1046 votesLoading...#11 - Thanksgiving Dinner
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 4/9/2023
A look at some staples of Thanksgiving dinner that weren't around until a few brands used technological advances to reinvent turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and more; food innovators made each part of the meal accessible.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/1075 votesLoading...#12 - Godfathers of Fast Food
Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 4/4/2021
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/1063 votesLoading...#13 - When the Chips Are Down
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 6/6/2021
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/1060 votesLoading...#14 - A Cold One
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 3/6/2022
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/1035 votesLoading...#15 - Dog Eat Dog
Season 4 Episode 15 - Aired 7/16/2023
At a time when dog food is a rarity and cat food is almost nonexistent, it will take visionary innovators to invent the first dog treat, dry food, the first cat food, and many more innovations that will carve out the billion-dollar pet food industry.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/1034 votesLoading...#16 - Beer Run
Season 4 Episode 16 - Aired 7/23/2023
At a time when U.S. beer is dominated by the same lager style, one Milwaukee company experiments with something new.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/1018 votesLoading...#17 - Citrus Soda Stars
Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 7/21/2024
A small-time St. Louis soda maker, Charles Leiper Grigg, takes on Coke and Pepsi by introducing a clear, lemon-lime soda he calls 7-Up. At the same time, two brothers in Tennessee, Ali and Barney Hartman, have their own, called Mountain Dew.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/10131 votesLoading...#18 - Lines in the Sand
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 8/11/2019
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/1046 votesLoading...#19 - The Chicken Coup
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 3/26/2023
A devout Georgia diner owner stumbles into the chicken game when he develops a unique fried chicken sandwich with a batch of cast-off filets. The unique sandwich he creates will become the menu centerpiece at one of the most popular fast-food chains in the world.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/1045 votesLoading...#20 - Peanut Butter Battle
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 4/16/2023
When an entrepreneur creates shelf-stable peanut butter out of his garage, it leads to the birth of an iconic sandwich; as competition heats up to be America's favorite peanut butter, three famous brands battle it out to be number one.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/1036 votesLoading...#21 - Bring Home the Bacon
Season 4 Episode 14 - Aired 7/9/2023
A young upstart named Oscar® Mayer creates one of the most iconic meat brands on the planet; pioneer Jay Hormel invents a meat product sold the world over, which becomes part of a $20 billion food empire.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/10119 votesLoading...#22 - Pizza Wars
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 2/9/2021
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/1080 votesLoading...#23 - Soup Wars
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 3/28/2021
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/1052 votesLoading...#24 - Pop Stars
Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 4/17/2022
Small town farmer Orville Redenbacher has a lifelong dream of creating the perfect popcorn kernel, leading to the first significant development of popcorn in thousands of years which he sells nationwide, eventually pitting him against industry rivals for supremacy of America’s oldest snack.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/1047 votesLoading...#25 - Clash of the Coffee
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 3/19/2023
Coffee's quality and popularity wane by the 1960s, until a handful of visionaries turn the industry on its head. First, three college friends create an iconic brand of revolutionary gourmet Coffee. Then, this now-iconic chain creates an entirely new category of restaurant.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Worst Episodes of The Food That Built America
Every episode of The Food That Built America ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst 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...
Genre:Documentary
Network:History
Worst Episodes Summary
"Breakfast Barons" is the worst rated episode of "The Food That Built America". It scored 7.1/10 based on 64 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 6/27/2021. This episode scored 0.1 points lower than the second lowest rated, "American Spirits".