The Food That Built America

High School friends see an alternative to fast food with the "submarine" sandwich. But they are quickly met with the fierce competition of a new submarine joint, started by a physicist, that will go on to be the biggest restaurant chain in the world.

In the late 1800s, German immigrants Joseph Schlitz and Captain Frederick Pabst find themselves in a battle for beer dominance. In their fight for one upmanship they will help create the most popular alcoholic beverage on the planet.

When a commercial caterer realizes his two best selling items are donuts and coffee, he joins forces with his brother-in-law to create a revolutionary donut chain. Soon a rivalry starts with a beloved Southern-based donut shop.

When his ice cream truck breaks down, Tom Carvel discovers that half-melted ice cream is a surefire hit. But while he works to mass produce this new treat, the McCulloughs hit upon the same idea.

In a quest to dominate the growing commercial bread industry, Lee Marshall bets on a new kind of white loaf, unwittingly inspiring a homemaker named Margaret Rudkin to come up with a healthier alternative.

Hollywood agent Wally Amos transforms his professional life when he decides to make and sell his own gourmet chocolate chip cookies, and opens America's first cookie store.

When Colonel Sanders sells his company to investors in 1964, the new owners identify a rising star within the organization: Dave Thomas. But Thomas–a visionary franchisee and prot g of Colonel Sanders himself–soon becomes one of their most bitter rivals, and within a few short years, his newly-founded burger chain will give the fried chicken joint a run for its money, and become one of the most popular restaurants in the world.

Small town farmer Orville Redenbacher has a lifelong dream of creating the perfect popcorn kernel, leading to the first significant development of popcorn in thousands of years which he sells nationwide.

Restaurateur Glen Bell works to create a burger alternative for the overcrowded fast-food market and after several setbacks goes on to help introduce the taco to America.

In New York City, former Olympic wrestler Rocky Aoki and a perfume salesman become the unlikely fathers of a casual dining revolution when they open wildly different establishments in the heart of the city.

When a New York bakery owner passes away suddenly, his wife Martha Entenmann takes the reigns of the company and grows it into a national powerhouse. Meanwhile, a married couple have bankrupted one bakery, but are determined to succeed their second time.

When brothers open an Italian restaurant in Cleveland in 1924, neither realizes that their quest to introduce Italian food to Americans will result in one of the nation's most iconic brands. But their success attracts the attention of another food giant.