Eli's Cheesecake

Last updated
Eli's Cheesecake
Type Private
IndustryFood production
Founded1980
FounderEli Schulman
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
USA
ProductsCheesecake
OwnerMarc Schulman, President
Number of employees
51-200
Website www.elicheesecake.com

Eli's Cheesecake is a cheesecake company based in Chicago. Eli's Original Plain Cheesecake, which has been called "Chicago's most famous dessert", is made of cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a butter shortbread cookie crust. Since the introduction of Eli's Original Plain Cheesecake, the company now offers cheesecakes with various ingredients such as chocolate, fruit, or caramel, as well as other desserts like tarts, cakes, and tiramisu. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

Eli Schulman was born in 1910 on the West Side of Chicago. [4] In 1940, he started his first venture in the restaurant business with a popular coffee shop called Eli's Ogden Huddle. [5] He followed Eli's Odgen Huddle with Eli's Stage Delicatessen, where several notable performers dined.

Eli's The Place For Steak

In 1966, Eli's The Place for Steak was opened and the celebrities followed. [5] Celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Gale Sayers, and Henny Youngman all spent time dining at Eli's The Place for Steak. [6] During the late 1970s, Eli Schulman developed the original plain cheesecake as the signature dessert for Eli's The Place for Steak. The cheesecake represented the restaurant at the first Taste of Chicago in 1980, and it eventually became the festival's most popular dessert, with about 2 million slices sold as of 2005. [7] After being open for 39 years, Eli's The Place for Steak closed in 2005. [1] [8]

Company president, Marc Schulman Marc Schulman.jpg
Company president, Marc Schulman

Eli's Cheesecake Company

Eli's Cheesecake Company became its own company soon after the first Taste of Chicago in 1980 with a small North Side plant. [8] In 1996, Eli's Cheesecake Company moved to its current location in Chicago's Dunning neighborhood. [1] [8] The new location, called Eli's Cheesecake World, includes a 62,000-square-foot (5,800 m2) state-of-the-art antique bakery, bakery cafe, and corporate offices. [1] [8] Eli's Cheesecake products get shipped to customers all over the U.S. and to stores internationally. [9] Eli's is also available via a cooperation with Lou Malnati's through Lou Malnati's Tastes of Chicago, which provides Chicago-style cuisine nationally.

Eli Schulman's son, Marc Schulman, became president of Eli's Cheesecake in 1984 and has been running the company since his father's death on May 8, 1988. [4] Later in 1988, a playground across from the street from Eli's the Place for Steak was dedicated in Eli's memory and named the "Eli M. Schulman Playground". [10]

In November 2015, The Eli's Cheesecake Company launched their first cookbook, The Eli's Cheesecake Cookbook: Remarkable Recipes from a Chicago Legend. [11] The cookbook pays homage to founder Eli M. Schulman and includes 40 different recipes, including Eli's Cheesecake's classic cheesecakes such as Original Plain, Chocolate Chip, and Banana Chocolate, plus recipes from Eli's famous Chicago steakhouse, like Shrimp deJonghe. Aside from the recipes, the cookbook gives anecdotes from president Marc Schulman, wife Maureen Schulman, and a commentary from Chicago radio personality, Rick Kogan. A second edition of the Eli's Cheesecake Cookbook was published in 2021 with additional recipes and stories, including international family recipes submitted by Eli's employees. [12]

Accomplishments

Eli's has made cheesecakes for four American presidential inaugurations. In both 1993 and 1997, it made 2,000 pound cheesecakes for Bill Clinton's inauguration ceremonies. [13] [14] In January 2009, Eli's produced a 500-pound cheesecake for Barack Obama's inaugural ball, and in January 2013, the company made a 500-pound cheesecake for Obama's Inaugural Staff Ball. [15] [16]

Desperate Housewives' Jamie Denton and the Band From TV celebrate Eli's 30th birthday at the Taste of Chicago. Taste of Chicago Eli's Cheesecake.jpg
Desperate Housewives' Jamie Denton and the Band From TV celebrate Eli's 30th birthday at the Taste of Chicago.

Eli's Cheesecake made a 2,000-pound cheesecake to commemorate the Burnham Plan Centennial on June 27, 2009, as well as the twenty-ninth anniversary of the Taste of Chicago and Eli's Cheesecake. [17] Eli's has also made cheesecakes over the years for events such as Hillary Clinton's 50th birthday, Disney World's 25th birthday, Abraham Lincoln's Birthday Bicentennial Banquet (which President Barack Obama attended), Chicago's 150th birthday and Illinois' Governor Pat Quinn's inauguration in 2011. [18] [19] [20] [21] In 2015, Eli's made a cake for the James Beard Awards Welcome Reception in Chicago. Eli's Cheesecake continues to be favorite at the Taste of Chicago. [3]

Eli's has also been featured on some popular television shows, such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Oprah Winfrey Show . [21] In May 2012, Eli's Cheesecake was featured on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer in a special called "Made in America". [9]

Eli's broke ground on a 42,000 sq. ft. bakery expansion in July 2022. [22]

Related Research Articles

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Tiramisu is a coffee-flavoured Italian dessert. It is made of ladyfingers (savoiardi) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, flavoured with cocoa. The recipe has been adapted into many varieties of cakes and other desserts. Its origin is disputed between Italian regions Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cake</span> Flour-based baked sweet

Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, and which share features with desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate brownie</span> Baked chocolate confection

A chocolate brownie, or simply a brownie, is a chocolate baked confection. Brownies come in a variety of forms and may be either fudgy or cakey, depending on their density. Brownies often, but not always, have a glossy "skin" on their upper crust. They may also include nuts, frosting, cream cheese, chocolate chips, or other ingredients. A variation made with brown sugar and vanilla rather than chocolate in the batter is called a blond brownie or blondie. The brownie was developed in the United States at the end of the 19th century and popularized there during the first half of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheesecake</span> Sweet cheese-based dessert, often with a crust

Cheesecake is a sweet dessert consisting of one or more layers. The main, and thickest, layer consists of a mixture of a soft, fresh cheese, eggs, and sugar. If there is a bottom layer, it most often consists of a crust or base made from crushed cookies, graham crackers, pastry, or sometimes sponge cake. Cheesecake may be baked or unbaked.

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A Swiss roll, jelly roll, roll cake, cream roll, roulade or Swiss log is a type of rolled sponge cake filled with whipped cream, jam, or icing. The origins of the term are unclear; in spite of the name "Swiss roll", the cake is believed to have originated elsewhere in Central Europe, possibly Austria or Slovenia. It appears to have been invented in the nineteenth century, along with Battenberg cake, doughnuts, and Victoria sponge. In the U.S., commercial versions of the cake are sold with the brand names of Ho Hos, Yodels, Swiss Cake Rolls, and others. A type of roll cake called Yule log is traditionally served at Christmas.

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References

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  9. 1 2 'It's My Favorite': U.S. Exports, Businesses Score Mideast Fan Base – ABC News
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  15. Bill Zwecker. "At ball, a taste of Chicago". Chicago Sun-Times. January 13, 2009. 20.
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  18. Chicago, Eli's And The Dot-com – Page 2 – Chicago Tribune
  19. Obama Foodorama: President Obama's Favorite Cheesecake Recipe From The Lincoln Birthday Bicentennial Banquet
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