The Food That Built America Season 7, Episode 11: Spilling the Tea

Pizza Power Play

Two pizza juggernauts expand their empires as a hungry new contender turns the fight into a three-way race to become America’s biggest pizza chain.

42 min

Cereal Killers

Rival cereal giants race to invent the next must-have bowl, sparking a sugary arms race of mascots, crunch, candy, and the first ever chocolate cereal.

42 min

The Birth of Bubblegum

A struggling candy maker’s botched experiment leads to the world’s first bubble gum, its distinctive color, and a decades-long bubble gum war fueled by colorful mascots, comic strips, baseball cards, and novelty flavors — transforming gum into a pop culture.

42 min

Drive-Thru Burger Revolution

Three burger operators race to serve a new generation on wheels, and a primitive intercom and sliding window evolve into the drive-thru — revolutionizing fast food and kicking off an industry arms race.

42 min

Chocolate in a Glass

A chemist unlocks a chocolate syrup that transforms milk into a magic sensation, a scrappy soda shop owner cracks the code to bottling liquid chocolate for the masses, and a dairy innovator turns wartime surplus into instant cocoa gold.

42 min

Clash of the Cookie Giants

A century ago, the cookie industry didn't exist, until a wave of innovators turn it into a $15 billion powerhouse.

43 min

Cheesecake Chronicles

A struggling cheesemaker, a New York restauranteur, a small-time baker, and a determined mother-son duo transform a humble cheese pie into a decadent American dessert--turning cheesecake into a grocery staple and the star of a restaurant empire.

42 min

Rice to Riches

A keen-eyed immigrant, a candy mogul, and two pasta-making brothers reinvent rice for America’s kitchens by making it faster, easier, and impossible to resist.

42 min

Burgers, Burritos, & the Battle for Fast Food

An upstart chain innovates iconic menu items and fast food staples including a value menu and free refills, while fending off a new competitor to bring Mexican inspired fast food to the masses.

42 min

Icons of Ice Cream

Let's Get Crackering

Cereal Sensations

Say Yes to the Dressing