Emil, the son of Polish immigrants, came up with the concept of the cooked turkey breast when he served as a ship’s cook for the Merchant Marines. Emil discovered how to increase the yield of turkey meat by boning the breast and cooking them. He later refined his ideas by folding two raw breasts together, seasoning them, and oven roasting them in foil.

Emil then set out to sell his product, using his father’s basement to make his first commercial samples in 1948. Howard Johnson soon became his first account, to be followed by Woolworth and Marriott. By 1979, Emil grew Northwestern Foods into the largest turkey breast manufacturer in the country.

After selling the company in 1979, Emil saw a big change in the quality of turkey products. In 1987 Emil decided to go back into business and reintroduce the high quality oven roasted turkey breast he made popular 40 years earlier. He established a processing facility in Philadelphia, PA and the company is using Emil's original methods to produce our homestyle turkey.

At Emil’s, we proudly continue his tradition by providing our customers with the highest quality line of natural, wholesome and delicious turkey and chicken deli meats available.