Who invented nachos?
Ignacio Anaya García, the inventor of Nachos was born in Mexico on August 15, 1895, and his nickname was Nacho.
He invented the dish in 1943 and made his name famous. At that time, he was a manager working at a popular restaurant called Club Victoria near the Texas-Mexico border. When a group of soldiers’ wives from a nearby U.S. Army base came in to order a snack, the chef was not around.
Because of that situation, Garcia abandoned his post and went to the kitchen. That was the time he created the Nachos specialises which is a plate of tortilla chips topped with grated Wisconsin cheese and sliced jalapeños.
That accidental creation easily became a hit. Nearby restaurants in the said area started adding this dish to their menu. The recipe for the snack appeared in an American cookbook as early as 1949.
Though it has become a popular dish all over the world, Garcia did not claim the legal rights to the dish. Until now, this is in the public domain. However, the world did not forget Nacho, the one who created the famous snack.
17 years after he created the dish, Garcia opened his own El Nacho restaurant. Over the years, new innovations are being made to the dish. Different ingredients were also added for the modern spin.
In an article in Tampa Bay Times back in 2002, it was stated that even the inventor of nachos incorporated a new ingredient into his dish. Reportedly, he made bean nachos instead of cheese because his granddaughter Cristina did not like the dairy product.
Garcia died in 1975 but his death did not hamper his popular dish to be known worldwide. He left the world with his dish from his own nickname.