14 Facts About Duncan Hines

Duncan Hines was an American author and food critic known for his restaurant ratings for travelers.

Duncan Hines is best known today for the brand of food products that bears his name.

Duncan Hines's mother died when he was four years old, and he was raised by his grandmother.

Duncan Hines attended Bowling Green Business University, which later merged with what is Western Kentucky University.

Duncan Hines worked in the American West for Wells Fargo and other companies before settling in Chicago, Illinois.

Duncan Hines worked as a traveling salesman for a Chicago printer, and he had eaten many meals on the road across the United States by 1935 when he was 55.

The list became popular and he began selling the paperback book Adventures in Good Eating, highlighting restaurants and their featured dishes that Duncan Hines had personally enjoyed in locations across the United States.

The book proved so successful that Duncan Hines added another which recommended lodging.

In 1952, Duncan Hines introduced Duncan Hines bread through the Durkee's Bakery Company of Homer, New York.

Duncan Hines expanded the business to the national market and added a series of related products.

Also in 1957, Duncan Hines appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show To Tell the Truth.

Duncan Hines died of lung cancer at his home in Bowling Green on March 15,1959, at the age of 78.

Duncan Hines was buried in Fairview Cemetery in Bowling Green, at the same series of Hines family plots as Thomas Hines.

The Duncan Hines brand is owned by Conagra Brands, the current name for Nebraska Consolidated Mills, which was the original owner of the brand.