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Duncan Hines: How a Traveling Salesman Became the Most Trusted Name in Food Kindle Edition

by Louis Hatchett (Author), Michael Stern (Foreword), Jane Stern (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition

3.9 27 ratings

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This delightful biography “offers conclusive proof that Hines was not only a real human being, but an American culinary hero” (The Weekly Standard).

Duncan Hines may be best known for the cake mixes, baked goods, and bread products that bear his name, but many people don’t know that he was a real person and not just a fictitious figure invented for the brand. America's pioneer restaurant critic, Hines discovered his passion while working as a traveling salesman during the 1920s and 1930s—a time when food standards were poorly enforced and food safety was a constant concern. He traveled across America discovering restaurants and offering his recommendations to readers in his bestselling compilation Adventures in Good Eating—and the success of this work and his subsequent publications led Hines to manufacture the extremely popular food products that we still enjoy today.

In this biography, Louis Hatchett explores the story of the man, from his humble beginnings in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to his lucrative licensing deal with Procter & Gamble. Following the successful debut of his restaurant guide, Hines published his first cookbook at age fifty-nine and followed it with The Dessert Book—culinary classics including recipes from establishments he visited on his travels, favorites handed down through his family for generations, and new dishes that contained unusual ingredients for the era. Many of the recipes served as inspiration for mixes that eventually became available under the Duncan Hines brand.

This is a comprehensive account of the life and legacy of a savvy businessman and an often-overlooked culinary pioneer whose love of good food led to his name becoming a grocery shelf favorite.

Print length

397 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

The University Press of Kentucky
Publication date

March 27, 2014
File size

2639 KB
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Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Offers conclusive proof that Hines was not only a real human being, but an American culinary hero, a contender for the greatest gourmand this country has ever produced."―Weekly Standard

"Duncan Hines was not just a name emblazoned on a pasteboard box filled with devil's food cake mix. He was America's pioneer restaurant critic, an astute observer of our nation's foodways. Louis Hatchett's book puts you in the car with Hines, plying the roadways in search of the best t-bone steak in New York, the best pecan pie in Alabama."―John T. Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance

"Cake mixes, brownie mixes, cans of frosting, and bottle of cake glaze all still use his name. But for most Kentuckians, and I suspect for most Americans, Duncan Hines is a Betty-Crocker-type brand-name: fictitious and made-up as just a face for the brand. Those of us who are familiar with Duncan Hines know this isn't true. As a Kentuckian he made an impact on the travel guide, lodging, restaurant and food industry."―Maggie Green, author of The Kentucky Fresh Cookbook

"Duncan Hines' story is a wonderful study of how someone can turn their name and product into a brand. Hines is the original celebrity food critic."―Albert Schmid, author of The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook

"With "Duncan Hines," you can have your cake and read it, too."―Terri Schlichenmeyer, Inside Business (Hampton Roads)

"Thanks to Louis Hatchett's highly readable and informative book, the accomplishments of this remarkable American will again be valued and understood."―Indiana Magazine of History

"Hines's influence, as well as the historical significance of Hatchett's biography, is predicated on his capacity to communicate across lines of race, gender, and class to shape Americans' understanding of their cuisine. Hines was the "most trusted name in food," as Hatchett reminds us, for some very good reasons."―Historian

About the Author

Louis Hatchett is the editor of Mencken's Americana and The Continuing Crisis: As Chronicled for Four Decades by R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00K6RV2RW
Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University Press of Kentucky; Illustrated edition (March 27, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 27, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2639 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 397 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #613,220 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #284 in Gastronomy History (Kindle Store)
- #330 in Company Histories
- #543 in Biographies of Business Professionals

Customer Reviews:
3.9 27 ratings

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Joe Butson

How to Create a Household Name without Trying

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2023

Verified Purchase

In an age when, arguably, too much is written about food, restaurants and the culture of dining, this history is essential reading for a number of types of readers. If you are a so called "foodie", you've met your match in Duncan Hines. He invented and innovated the concept. If you are are self published author, consider selling millions of books that you actually design, print and distribute where there is literally no market for your kind of content. If you are a critic, cover the entire United States and continually cover for years with the help of trusted friends. If you are a trade, business or industry expert, meet Duncan Hines, an individual you could never match for influence. If you are a consumer advocate, Hines literally saved lives with his insistence on cleanliness and order. if you are interested in product marketing, read about Hines's partner Roy Park and how they together created a product that changed the way Americans eat.

This is not a perfectly written book and others have noted some of its weaker areas in prose and organization. But if you have an interest in food, dining, and business, this book is essential. I am not sure if it is studied at the post secondary and graduate level but it should be. I so enjoyed reading about the man and his methods of rating, reviewing and publishing on the topics of dining, eating, lodging and cooking. Duncan Hines was not an opportunist but an intrepid guide to enjoying communities across the United States. He put places to visit and dine on the map and his integrity when it comes to quality were unquestioned. You may not enjoy the fastidious man you'll meet in the pages of this book, but you won't forget him.

I recommend this essential book.

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Kindle Customer

good info, mediocre writing

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2022

Verified Purchase

This book reads like slightly organized research notes which, according to the introduction, is what it is. While it mostly follows a chronological order, it frequently doubles back and either repeats or contradicts itself. There is way too much history and detail, like the dates and birthplaces of his third wife’s grandparents and the name of their limo driver in London. The writing is somewhat schizophrenic in that it’s mostly textbook-like, with a few fancy phrases and big word mixed in plus several incorrect words like “put 350 miles on his speedometer.”
HOWEVER, all that being said, the information about this interesting man and the time in which he lived and worked made the effort of reading it worthwhile.

2 people found this helpful

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Kentucky Quacker

... for living well and not a fictitious advertising contrivance like Betty Crocker

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2014

Author Louis Hatchett reminds us Duncan Hines (1880-1959) was a real person with a zest for living well and not a fictitious advertising contrivance like Betty Crocker, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben or Captain Crunch to sell the eponymous brand-named line of dependable packaged baking mixes that continues to dominate supermarket aisles decades after their introduction. Bowling Green, KY residents have tangible reminders that he was a native son with an annual festival, the Duncan Hines Scenic Byway, an 82 mile loop past historic homes and sites through Warren and Edmonson Counties, and the Hardy and Son Funeral Home, site of the former Hines residence on Louisville Road. Although his photograph was omitted from product boxes following his death, Duncan Hines face was instantly recognizable in his day and businesses strived to achieve the distinctive accolade “Recommended by Duncan Hines”, an assurance of success.

Hines was a printer’s sales representative during the 1920’s and 1930’s who traveled for business and pleasure thousands of miles primarily by car through small towns and rural communities in the era before interstate highways were built. There were neither chain restaurants nor established, regulated food safety standards, no guidebooks for roadside eateries, restaurant critics outside of major cities or a Food Show Network. In point of fact, dining out in Middle America could be as hazardous to one’s health as consuming snacks from Third World street vendors. In his quest to find consistently reliable, clean, quality places to eat and sleep, Duncan Hines was a revolutionary pioneer who permanently transformed the food service and hospitality industries and laid the foundations for the countless food and restaurant critics, food writers, bloggers and television programs that followed. In 1935, Hines self-published his first Adventures in Good Eating, a tightly bound, expertly printed paperback with a bright red cover containing a list of his 475 favorite places to eat. The book was an instant success; updated and reprinted many times until 1962. It spurred him to publish a companion book, in vivid yellow, "Lodging for a Night". He retired from the printing business to focus on his guidebooks and wrote a syndicated newspaper column thrice weekly sharing advice and restaurant recipes for home cooks.

This nattily dress businessman, son of a Confederate veteran, visionary entrepreneur, bon vivant, discerning food critic and writer of self-published guidebooks for food and lodging had already made a comfortable living from his various ventures. Partnership with Roy H. Park in Hines-Park Foods led to lucrative brand name licensing agreements which continue to generate wealth.

Could Louis Hatchett have imagined when he chose Duncan Hines as the subject of his Master’s Thesis at Western Kentucky University more than two decades ago that he would become the foremost biographer of the “most trusted name in food” as well as becoming a key conservator of his legacy? It took the author several years to research his subject, a process which included interviewing family, friends, employees and associates of Duncan Hines. His original thesis evolved into the now out-of-print hardback biography, "Duncan Hines: The Man Behind the Cake Mix" (2001). University Press of Kentucky in adherence to the perfectionist subject’s insistence on print quality excellence has recently released a trio of books written or updated and edited by Henderson resident Louis Hatchett: "Duncan Hines: How a Traveling Salesman Became the Most Trusted Name in Food, Adventures in Good Cooking, and The Dessert Book". All three have forewords written by Michael and Jane Stern, contemporary critics experts on “Roadfood,” who owe a large debt of gratitude to their predecessor for blazing a trial.

10 people found this helpful

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Michelle B. Braverman

More than you might want to know but not enough

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2020

Louis Hatchett loves his subject, and in truth he does bring Duncan Hines to life as a charming raconteur with some strong opinions about what we should demand in our eating out experiences. There is no doubt Duncan Hines did much to improve the quality of restaurant meals by encouraging regional specialties honestly prepared and cleanliness above all. I remember those "Duncan Hines recommends" signage and his first cake mixes. My mother even abandoned her own scratch-made chocolate cake for his devil's food mix (but would never admit it). My problem with the book is there is way too much extraneous genealogical information about the participants in his story and not one facsimile page or photo of a guidebook. There are snippets of Hines' style but not enough to verify that part of his charm was the folksy writing. There is a bit too much fluff, such as the secretary who reluctantly brought her baby to work. To Hatchett's credit—or maybe in spite of— Duncan Hines comes across as a lovely man who inadvertently created a revolution with his adventures in good eating.

2 people found this helpful

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Prehmorg

A delightful book about someone I never knew even existed....

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2014

I thoroughly enjoyed this story about someone I didn't even know was an actual person. I'm not young and my Mama laughed when I said I thought he was just a "name". I don't know how I missed this part of history. But it's a book worth reading.

5 people found this helpful

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