The BEST episodes of The Food That Built America season 2

Every episode of The Food That Built America season 2, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Food That Built America season 2!

For generations of Americans, food titans like Henry Heinz, Milton Hershey, John and Will Kellogg, C.W. Post and the McDonald brothers have literally been household names, but you don't know their stories. Before they were brand names, they were brilliant, sometimes ruthless, visionaries who revolutionized food and changed the landscape of America forever. This series event will tell the fascinating stories of the people behind the food that built America – those who used brains, muscle, blood, sweat and tears to get to America's heart through its stomach, and along the way built cities, invented new technologies and helped win wars.

Last Updated: 12/8/2024Network: HistoryStatus: Continuing
The TV Dinner
star
8.19
42 votes

#1 - The TV Dinner

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/11/2021

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.

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Pizza Wars
star
8.16
62 votes

#2 - Pizza Wars

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/9/2021

In the 1950's, 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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When the Chips Are Down
star
8.00
45 votes

#3 - When the Chips Are Down

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 6/6/2021

As C.E. Doolin and Herman Lay try to control the chips business in the 1950s, their success inspires one of the biggest companies in the world to design a strong, saddle-shaped chip and a revolutionary container to ship them in.

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The Kings of Burgers
star
7.92
63 votes

#4 - The Kings of Burgers

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/21/2021

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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The Chocolate Rush
star
7.92
49 votes

#5 - The Chocolate Rush

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/14/2021

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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Cola Wars
star
7.89
46 votes

#6 - Cola Wars

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/7/2021

In the 1970s, one major cola brand launches a blind taste-test marketing plan that takes direct aim at their biggest competitor.

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Soup of the Century
star
7.85
46 votes

#7 - Soup of the Century

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/28/2021

When a chemist begins working at the Joseph A. Campbell preserve company, he invents a condensed soup that brings this rare luxury to the nation for the first time. It also attracts the attention of Henry Heinz, who becomes a bitter competitor.

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Gum Slingers
star
7.84
32 votes

#8 - Gum Slingers

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 6/20/2021

William Wrigley stumbles upon a new product that kickstarts a revolution across industries and sparks a life-long rivalry.

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American Cheese
star
7.84
51 votes

#9 - American Cheese

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/28/2021

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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Godfathers of Fast Food
star
7.84
37 votes

#10 - 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.

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A Game of Chicken
star
7.79
33 votes

#11 - A Game of Chicken

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 5/31/2021

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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The Rise of a Rival
star
7.75
32 votes

#12 - The Rise of a Rival

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 6/13/2021

Candy company president Charles Guth buys a bankrupt cola company and goes to war with the supplier who wronged him and its new CEO, maverick businessman Robert Woodruff.

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Chip Dynasties
star
7.61
44 votes

#13 - Chip Dynasties

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/14/2021

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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Ice Cream Empires
star
7.50
42 votes

#14 - Ice Cream Empires

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/18/2021

A young boy accidentally discovers a frozen treat on a stick; a candy store owner reinvents ice cream and launches the first ever ice cream truck; when two men own a patent on the same thing, a battle erupts.

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Cookie Wars
star
7.49
41 votes

#15 - Cookie Wars

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/21/2021

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

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Breakfast Barons
star
7.12
25 votes

#16 - 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.

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