Buried in Michigan: The Cream of Wheat Man

The man you came to know and love as the chef on boxes of 'Cream of Wheat' cereal, was born in 1867 in Barbados and came to the United States in 1875.

After becoming an American citizen in 1890, he began working as a chef in a Chicago restaurant. While employed at the restaurant, he was one of two chefs who were photographed in 1900  to be the cover model on a cereal called 'Cream of Wheat'.

The powers-that-be liked Frank's photos the best, and soon he was dressed in chef's clothing and posing with bowls of hot cereal that would become the iconic box image.

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The 20th Century plodded on, with various versions of Cream of Wheat hitting the grocers: instant, regular, various flavors...all with Frank's photo on the front of all the boxes.

Then, after 120 years, in 2020 it was announced that Frank's face would be excluded from any future cereal boxes. When the company who produced Cream of Wheat – B&G Foods -  was asked why they were doing this, they replied (according to Wiki), "While research indicates the image may be based upon an actual Chicago chef named Frank White, it reminds some consumers of earlier depictions they find offensive.....Therefore, we are removing the chef image from all Cream of Wheat packaging.”      So all of a sudden, after 120 years, it's found offensive?

Notice they said some consumers, not all, not a majority, but some. That speaks a lot.

That's right. The man who smiled at us every morning...the man who made people happy.....the man who seemed to exude pure joy.....was taken away from us. Members of all races were insulted, angered, and dismayed at this corporate decision. There is still hope by those who grew up eating Cream of Wheat (with Frank's face on the box) that this decision will be reversed and Frank will be returned to the Cream of Wheat box. We can only hope.

Meantime, you can visit the man himself...Frank, who passed away in 1938, is buried in the Michigan village of Leslie in Ingham County. Upon visiting the cemetery, Frank's grave is easy to find, as his famous picture – in chef's hat and outfit – is featured on the upper left corner of the gravestone (scroll down to see photos).

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