1. George Magar Mardikian was a Turkish-born American restaurateur, chef, author and philanthropist of Armenian heritage.
27 Facts About George Mardikian
1. 2.
George Mardikian was important in popularizing Armenian cuisine in the United States.
3.
George Mardikian is a nephew of Armenian revolutionary Krikor Amirian.
4.
George Mardikian was born on November 7,1903, in Bayburt, in what was then the Ottoman Empire, to Magar George Mardikian and Haiganoush Amirian.
5.
George Mardikian grew up in the city of Scutari, an Armenian community in Constantinople.
6.
George Mardikian's maternal family, the Amirians, was an influential and powerful family in Bayburt.
7.
George Mardikian's mother was the eldest sibling of his idol, Krikor Amirian.
8.
George Mardikian called on his fellow youths to continue the fight for freedom.
9.
George Mardikian served his term in prison in a sauerkraut factory where the Turkish guards forced the Armenian prisoners to chop ice, even though it was a useless activity.
10.
George D White, whom he had met a few years earlier, told the Turkish prison commandant that Mardikian was an American and demanded his freedom.
11.
George Mardikian eventually gained his freedom and returned to his mother and his surviving family members in Scutari.
12.
One hour after George Mardikian's ship left the port of Scutari, Turkish police knocked on Haiganoush's door demanding that they reveal the location of her son.
13.
The reason for this was that George Mardikian stated he was a Near East Relief worker, which led to his freedom from prison.
14.
George Mardikian vowed to one day open a restaurant of his own.
15.
George Mardikian was later appointed restaurant manager by Eugene Compton.
16.
In 1935, George Mardikian arranged the arrival of his mother from Bucharest, Romania, where she lived with her brother, Krikor Amirian.
17.
George Mardikian was eventually buried at Ararat Cemetery in Fresno.
18.
In 1942, George Mardikian was appointed as a food consultant to the Quartermaster General of the United States Army, a position that he would hold until 1954.
19.
GIs everywhere are grateful to George Mardikian for improving the quality of their meals.
20.
George Mardikian would receive presidential commendations for the drastic changes that he made to the United States military.
21.
George Mardikian was finally able to locate him in late 1945.
22.
George Mardikian helped them to escape to Austria and then, finally, to Italy.
23.
In 1951, Mardikian was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Harry S Truman for his work as a consultant to the Quartermaster General of the United States Army.
24.
George Mardikian would go on to write and contribute to entrepreneurial and philanthropic causes, including the founding of American National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians.
25.
George Mardikian used Armenian folk tales to sell items on his menu.
26.
George Mardikian made a point to emphasize the health benefits of his homemade yogurt, which at the time was not part of an American diet.
27.
George Mardikian starred in the television show, This Is Your Life, airing May 5,1954 with host Ralph Edwards.