Clarence Birdseye, a Brooklyn native, developed a quick-freezing process that launched the modern frozen-food industry. Birdseye lived in Labrador between 1912 and 1917 where he saw the indigenous Inuit people go fishing and let their catch freeze in the frigid air. Left out in cold, this frozen fish tasted fresh when cooked. After returning to America, Birdseye founded his frozen-fish company in New York in 1923.