Rewriting a Pioneer’s Legacy : Charles Tellier and the French Frozen-Food Industry, 1960s-1970s

This paper examines how French frozen-food professionals mobilized the legacy of Charles Tellier, a 19th-century refrigeration pioneer who died in poverty, to counter consumer resistance to frozen foods. Through analysis of the trade journal La Surgélation and Tellier’s memoir, I show how the industry reframed his story of failure and posthumous vindication to legitimize their struggles and portray consumer skepticism as historically shortsighted. By celebrating a French pioneer, they positioned their industry as continuing a French tradition of innovation rather than importing American methods. By highlighting how Tellier’s contemporaries failed to recognize his vision, they suggested 1960s-70s consumers risked repeating a historical mistake. This research reveals how industries use historical narratives to overcome resistance to technological change and how French food industries navigated postwar tensions between modernization and tradition.