Add the snack food classic to the list of great inventions to come out of North Texas.
By Alex Macon
Published in
FrontBurner
May 19, 2021
9:20 am
A lot of world-changing inventions have come out of North Texas over the years. The integrated circuit. The frozen margarita machine. Liquid Paper. Doritos. (Related: There are several clues here that will help you in taking “The Biggest Baddest Most Dallas Quiz Ever” contained in the May issue of the magazine and going online in the not too distant future.)
There’s another product we could now add to that list, one that for my money may be the greatest invention our region has given humanity: the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto. It’s a classic in the junk food pantheon, beloved far and wide while making a bunch of money for Frito-Lay and becoming something of a pop culture meme look to celebrities embracing Flamin’ Hot Cheeto Halloween costumes or to cupcakes sprinkled in Hot Cheeto dust for evidence.
“Richard Montañez embodies the entrepreneurial spirit,” publisher says in a statement
Samson Amore | May 18, 2021 @ 7:40 PM
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Porftolio Books, the publishers of Richard Montañez’s upcoming book “Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise From Janitor to Top Executive,” said it stands by Montañez’s version of the story amid speculation Montañez might be lying.
The book is due out June 15. Portfolio Books publisher Adrian Zackheim told the LA Times Tuesday, “We are proud to stand with our author. Richard Montañez embodies the entrepreneurial spirit; we salute his dedication to inspiring people to own their own stories no matter what their circumstances.”
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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.
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Fuelled by the redder than red dust of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, a Frito-Lay janitor rose through the ranks to become a high-powered executive. So goes the against-all-odds story of Richard Montañez, self-proclaimed creator of the wildly popular spicy snack.
“The Godfather of Hispanic Marketing” has been telling this tale since 2007. About how, after working the graveyard janitor shift at the Frito-Lay plant in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., he took home a bag full of plain Cheetos. Inspired by elote vendors, he used his wife Judy’s recipe for chili sauce to season them. “After an intense process of experimenting and testing” in his kitchen, Flamin’ Hot was born.