After the Los Angeles Times released an investigation disputing Richard Montañezâs longtime claim as the creator of Flaminâ Hot Cheetos, the piece ignited a controversy around culinary ownership, race and how the histories of people of color should be told.
Richard Montañezâs famous story begins when he was a janitor at Frito-Layâs Rancho Cucamonga plant, where he conceived of an idea for a chile-coated Cheeto. He called the chief executive at the time and pitched the idea, resulting in the extremely popular Flaminâ Hot Cheetos line and vaulting him into such stratospheres of success that a feature film of his life is currently in development.