Ignacio Anaya García: Google Doodle honours the man who invented nachos

Doodle celebrates the culinary innovator's 124th birthday

Google has paid tribute to an unfamiliar legend in the world of food with its latest Google Doodle.

On Thursday, the tech company modified its logo to celebrate the 124th birthday of Ignacio Anaya García.

While you may not recognise his name, chances are you’re well-acquainted with his culinary creation: nachos.

The drawing is an animated GIF featuring García assembling tortilla chips on a plate, then topping them with shredded cheese and sliced jalapeno peppers.

According to Google, García created the signature dish in 1943 while working as Maître d' at a popular restaurant in the border town of Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

When a group of wives stationed at a nearby air base visited the restaurant for something to eat, García was unable to find a chef, and so he pulled together a dish himself which he named “Nachos Especiales”.

The dish was later added to the restaurant's menu and quickly grew in popularity at other nearby restaurants.

The doodle was created by Alfonso de Anda, a guest artist based in Mexico City.

“There isn't a whole lot of information on Ignacio, so I shifted my focus onto the dish itself,” de Anda said.

“My approach was very straightforward; imagining Ignacio making his first plate of nachos while implicitly communicating a sense of fun.”

De Anda added that drawing a doodle for Google had been a goal of his for a while and that his chosen topic was particularly meaningful to him.

“I hope people get an instant craving for a snack after they see the Doodle,” de Anda aded.

“I also hope that they instantly drop whatever it is they're doing and satisfy that craving.”

Following the death of Garcia in 1975, a bronze plaque was erected in his honour in Piedras Negras, and 21 October was declared the International Day of the Nacho.