Bonafide Restaurant Critic: Hines Takes Food to a New Level
Bonafide Restaurant Critic: Hines Takes Food to a New Level
Travelers throughout the country came to trust the Duncan Hines sign as one that would lead them to a good meal. They often kept a copy of his book in their car with them as they made long road trips, relying on it to find a decent place to stop and eat.
Hines soon quit his job as a traveling salesman and began working as a full-time traveler and author. With his wife at his side, Hines kept notebooks critiquing every single restaurant he ate at, saying "there was hardly a hamlet or a crossroad in the United States that I have not visited." His travels even took him to Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, and Europe, saying he "made a game of filling notebooks as well as ourselves."
Over the next twenty years, his book would be updated in 47 different editions. Hines began to take note of more than just the food. Soon, Hines was reviewing everything from "general quality of the food, the sanitation (most important of all), the service, and specialties of the house." If a restaurant's standards had dropped, Hines would remove it from the next edition of the book. As a result, his reputation for being on top of the trends in the restaurant business kept growing.
Hines would come to publish another five books over the next twenty years, including ones on cooking and lodging. Then, in 1947, Hines was presented with a new opportunity to expand his business.
That year, Hines was introduced to Roy Park, a public relations representative for a mid-western food company that was interested in using the �Duncan Hines� name to market a new line of food products. Initially against the idea, Hines found himself warming up to it over the next few years.
In 1952, Hines partnered with Durkee's Bakery Company of New York to introduce a new line of Duncan Hines breads. In 1953, Hines took the big step of selling the right to use his name to Park, who began putting the Hines brand on everything from baking products to cookware to small appliances. The Duncan Hines cake mix license was sold to Nebraska Consolidated Mills, which developed the first Duncan Hines cake mixes, and later sold the business to industry giant Procter & Gamble in 1956.
Under Procter & Gamble, the Hines brand expanded and went international. Hines passed away of lung cancer on March 15, 1959, but his company lives on under the ownership of Pinnacle Foods. He might not have discovered his passion in life until he was 55 years old, but he lived the last 24 years of his life making up for it, and making up for it well.
Bonafide Restaurant Critic Hines Takes Food to a New Level
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"Adventures in Good Eating" proved to be a tremendous success for the first-time self-published Hines. Restaurants that he had listed began hanging signs in their windows that read �Recommended by Duncan Hines," and he became a much sought after reviewer across the country. Indeed, being recommended by Duncan Hines was the highest compliment a restaurant could receive.
Travelers throughout the country came to trust the Duncan Hines sign as one that would lead them to a good meal. They often kept a copy of his book in their car with them as they made long road trips, relying on it to find a decent place to stop and eat.
Hines soon quit his job as a traveling salesman and began working as a full-time traveler and author. With his wife at his side, Hines kept notebooks critiquing every single restaurant he ate at, saying "there was hardly a hamlet or a crossroad in the United States that I have not visited." His travels even took him to Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, and Europe, saying he "made a game of filling notebooks as well as ourselves."
Over the next twenty years, his book would be updated in 47 different editions. Hines began to take note of more than just the food. Soon, Hines was reviewing everything from "general quality of the food, the sanitation (most important of all), the service, and specialties of the house." If a restaurant's standards had dropped, Hines would remove it from the next edition of the book. As a result, his reputation for being on top of the trends in the restaurant business kept growing.
Hines would come to publish another five books over the next twenty years, including ones on cooking and lodging. Then, in 1947, Hines was presented with a new opportunity to expand his business.
That year, Hines was introduced to Roy Park, a public relations representative for a mid-western food company that was interested in using the �Duncan Hines� name to market a new line of food products. Initially against the idea, Hines found himself warming up to it over the next few years.
In 1952, Hines partnered with Durkee's Bakery Company of New York to introduce a new line of Duncan Hines breads. In 1953, Hines took the big step of selling the right to use his name to Park, who began putting the Hines brand on everything from baking products to cookware to small appliances. The Duncan Hines cake mix license was sold to Nebraska Consolidated Mills, which developed the first Duncan Hines cake mixes, and later sold the business to industry giant Procter & Gamble in 1956.
Under Procter & Gamble, the Hines brand expanded and went international. Hines passed away of lung cancer on March 15, 1959, but his company lives on under the ownership of Pinnacle Foods. He might not have discovered his passion in life until he was 55 years old, but he lived the last 24 years of his life making up for it, and making up for it well.
Bonafide Restaurant Critic Hines Takes Food to a New Level
Like this article? Share it with your friends
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