One of our favorite evenings of the year at Eli’s Cheesecake is the “Taste of Chicago’s Culinary Schools” that we host in cooperation with the Chicago Foodservice Marketing Club. Now in its 7th Year, this Culinary Event held on Friday, March 5, 2010 brought over 250 industry and community leaders to Eli’s Cheesecake World for an evening of great food, Illinois Wines and Eli’s Cheesecake to honor top culinary students from the College of DuPage, The French Pastry School, Joliet Junior College, Kendall College, Le Cordon Bleu (CHIC), Lexington College, Robert Morris University and Washburne Culinary Institute. Our thank to Eli’s Event Chairperson and Founder of this event, Erin Arceo, our Director of Foodservice Sales, and NBC”s Wayne Johnson who returned as our celebrity master of ceremonies.

The Foodservice Industry is most generous in its support of culinary education. Scholarships were given to each of the participating schools and additional funds were given to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

NBC Wayne Johnson pictured with all of the participating student chefs and their instructors.

Making this event possible at Eli’s takes a great deal of support from all our Team Members. Above the Eli’s Team thanks  Wayne Johnson for his support in making this event such a great success.

Eli’s the Place for Steaks incomparable piano man Hal Roach provided entertainment for the evening.

Wayne Johnson is created by Eli’s Executive Pastry Chef Laurel Boger who created several spectacular mini-desserts for the event.

Eli’s Marc Schulman thanks Erin Arceo for her leadership in making this event such a success and recognized Lucille Shaw, Master Ag Teacher at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences for her support of food education in Chicago.

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One of the longest standing traditions at Eli’s, started by our beloved Rita Tierney in 1986, is providing Eli’s Irish Mint and Eli’s Cheesecake made with Bailey’s for the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade Queen’s Contest,

Eli’s Maureen Schulman serves each year as one of the judges for the Queen’s Contest. With so many talented and qualified contestants, it is very hard to pick a winner. Above are five finalists who will serve as the Queen and her Court.

The final two contestants—the Queen and the Runner-up.

The winner is announced—Kerry Anne Brennan.

The 2009 Queen, Julie Ann Popp. crowns Kerry Anne Brennan, the 2010 Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade Queen

Serving as the Queen of the St. Patrick’s Parade Parade and a Member of Her Court  results in a very busy month of public and media appearances leading up to the Parade on Saturday, March 13th, 2010. We are delighted that the Queen and Her Court will be visiting Eli’s Cheesecake World on Thursday, March 11th and then will bring greetings to the students at our neighbor, the New Horizon Center for the Developmentally Disabled.

Eli’s Maureen Schulman presents an Eli’s Cheesecake made with Bailey’s Irish Cream to the Queen and each member of her Court.

or five years, the Northwestern Law Small Business Opportunity Center at the Bluhm Legal Clinic has hosted a Saturday Conference that is open to entrepreneurs and other interested people as well as the Northwestern Law Community. Eli’s Cheesecake provided Dessert for the luncheon held in Lincoln Hall at which Eli’s Marc Schulman delivered the keynote address.

Eli’s Marc Schulman with NU Law grad, Howard Tullman, the CEO of Flashpoint Academy and a past winner of the Entrepreneur Award, and David Van Zandt, the Dean of Northwestern Law School.

Eli’s Marc and Maureen Schulman at Lincoln Hall

Eli’s Marc Schulman expresses his thanks to Esther Barron, the Director of the SBOC, Jennifer Ervin, a NU Law student and Co-Chair of the Conference  and Dean David Van Zandt.

Attending the Conference was Caroline Shoenberger, former Commissioner of Consumer Services for the City of Chicago and now a Professor at Harold Washington College, and John Chikow, the CEO of the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association. Both Caroline and John have been long time friends and supporters of Marc’s work in the community and at Eli’s.

With Eli’s the Place For Steak just down the block for Northwestern Law School, the restaurant hosted many NU Law Events. Here Eli comes to an event at the Law School with then Dean David Ruder

Northwestern’s  Chicago Campus has a rich history that ties in directly to the development of the Magnificent Mile and Streeterville. In his remarks, Marc shared the story of how Nathan MacChesney, an attorney and Northwestern Trustee had advocated back in 1915 to create a unified single campus on the current site. At that time, the land was a “dreary expanse of rubble and mud,” which had been developed and beautified by the mid 1920’s when the postcard above was published.

Olympic Figure Skater Evan Lysacak is a Chicago area native and a great friend to all of us at Eli’s Cheesecake dating back to his days skating at the Skokie Skatium Skating Professionals Evening that was followed by dinner at Eli’s the Place for Steak and in more recent years at the Eli’s Cheesecake Cafe.

In 2006, Evan joined us our celebrity Big Eli’s Cheesecake Cutter as we celebrated the 26th Birthday of Taste of Chicago and Eli’s Cheesecake.

We wish Evan great success as he skates for a Gold Medal in Vancouver Tonight.