Eli’s Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
Eli’s Cheesecake is proud to be served at the 2015 BMW Championship (formerly known as the Western Tournament) with all tournament proceeds benefiting the Evans Scholars Foundation. It is the second oldest golf tournament in the United States and will be held Sept. 14-20 at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Illinois .
A delegation from Eli’s Cheesecake is heading to Chicago’s sister city of Milan, Italy, to present “Chicago Week” during Expo Milano 2015, September 3-6. Chicago Week in Milan is an opportunity to showcase the best of Chicago through world-class experiences. Also traveling to Milan as part of this event are Chicago Chefs John Coletta (Quartino), Jason Hammel (Lula Cafe) and Matthias Merges (Yusho). Eli’s Cheesecakes and Bella Bacino’s will be featured at events throughout the week. Lagunitas Brewery is even creating a special craft beer, Mozango!, to celebrate the relationship between Chicago and Milan.
Mangia!
Here’s an update! We are here in Milan proud to display and serve Eli’s Original Plain Cheesecake and Salted Caramel Cheesecakes.
Yesterday, Eli’s helped celebrate SOAR’s 40th birthday as well as the inaugural season of their Farmer’s Market. SOAR (also known as the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents) was founded in 1975 and since then has worked to enhance the Streeterville community. Their Farmer’s Market, formerly managed by the City of Chicago Cultural Affairs and Special Events, is one of their newer projects and is hosted every Tuesday at Museum of Contemporary Art Plaza. The birthday and the Market were celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony as well as a big cake provided by Eli’s Cheesecake. Our own Maureen Schulman also hosted a baking demo of our strawberry compote from the Eli’s Cheesecake Cookbook, coming December 1st. Eli’s was honored to be included in this exciting community event and wishes SOAR luck with their first Farmer’s Market season.
The celebration cake provided by Eli’s Cheesecake.
The Ribbon cutting ceremony took place at noon, celebrating the opening of SOAR’s Farmers Market.
Feb 26
It’s been a big week for Eli’s Cheesecake around Chicago. On Sunday, we rolled out the red carpet and served dessert at the Gene Siskel Film Center for the “Hollywood on State” 2015 Oscar award viewing.
On Tuesday, we served Eli’s Cheesecake on election night, we celebrated the success of Leadbelly Burger’s mash-up fundraiser for the Sunshine Activity Center, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the development of life skills in persons with developmental disabilities.
Check awarded to the Sunshine Activity Center, a not-for-profit organization
Leadbelly Burgers created an Eli’s Cheesecake beignet made with Eli’s Cheesecake and Leadbelly’s fresh bread dough. Leadbelly Burger donated half of the proceeds from their beignet dessert sales to the Sunshine Activity Center and Eli’s Cheesecake matched their donation.
We also had the 94.7 WLS Radio Prize Patrol visit the Eli’s Cheesecake Bakery giving away CD’s, concert tickets, t-shirts, key chains and more. Then, it was off to election night to serve Eli’s Cheesecake while waiting for the results.
Wednesday night we celebrated The Chicago Help Initiative’s 15th anniversary of serving meals to those in need! Eli’s provided and served dinner and dessert by volunteers from The Eli’s Cheesecake Company.
Using our own recipes from our restaurant, we prepared the following menu:
Eli’s Table Surprise – iced vegetable and pickle crudité
Roast tenderloin of beef with demi-gloss
Creamy potato and caramelized onion gratin
Sauté of carrot and green bean
Dressed warm spinach salad with crisp bacon, candied red onion and egg
Eli’s the Place bread basket -rye, fennel, soft roll, bagel chip
Anniversary cheesecake
Thursday night Eli’s Cheesecake and desserts will be served at the annual James Tyree Foundation benefit.
The Foundation supports educational endeavors that foster creativity and innovation to improve the lives of people in the Chicagoland area.
Looking ahead to the weekend, we will be at the Love of Chocolate event on Saturday and the 2nd annual Eli’s and O’Briens Irish Cheesecake Bake-Off to benefit Mercy Home for Boys & Girls on Sunday, March 1st. Stay tuned for photos and updates. It may be freezing in Chicago, but we are warming hearts around “my kind of town”!
Last night, we celebrated the success of Leadbelly Burger’s mash-up fundraiser for the Sunshine Activity Center. Leadbelly Burgers created an Eli’s Cheesecake beignet made with Eli’s Cheesecake and Leadbelly’s fresh bread dough. Leadbelly Burger donated half of the proceeds from their beignet dessert sales to the Sunshine Activity Center and Eli’s Cheesecake matched their donation. The highlight of the evening was an impromptu performance of ‘60’s music by members of the Sunshine Activity Center. The Sunshine Activity Center is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the development of life skills in persons with developmental disabilities and accredited by CARF.
Check awarded to the Sunshine Activity Center, a not-for-profit organization
We are in the holiday zone here at Eli’s Cheesecake World, the location of our Eli’s Cheesecake Bakery Cafe, Eli’s Cheesecake Bakery, Eli’s Cheesecake Headquarters and Eli’s Retail Store and Visitor Center. We want to share a few highlights and events for December here in Chicago.
Each year, one of our most valued holiday traditions is the Eli’s Giving Tree. Eli’s Associates select of a civic or charitable organization of their choice and personally deliver a supply of Eli’s Cheesecakes and Desserts. It is our way of spreading joy in our local communities this holiday season.
Eli’s Cheesecake Annual Open House is December 9 from 5pm-7pm featuring a free dessert buffet, DJ spinning holiday music, prize wheel and 20% off everything sale (gift cards excluded).
Eli’s will be closing early on Dec. 11 at 5pm to allow our Eli’s Cheesecake Retail Associates to bring holiday cheer to our friends at the Sunshine Activity Center, a not-for-profit organization serving adults with developmental disabilities. Our associates will be preparing dinner, playing games and celebrating a visit with Santa.
The holiday dock sale of the year is on Saturday, December 13th from 9am-1pm. Popular flavor selections from Original Plain to Red Velvet Cheesecake and dockbuster sale prices make this a destination for your best prices of the season. The dock sale takes place on our shipping dock at 6701 W. Forest Preserve Drive, Chicago.
Eli’s Gift-A-Palooza sales is December 14-19. Every shopper who purchases $30 or more receives a free secret Santa gift! A fun family holiday outing is to visit Eli’s Cheesecake World for DIY (do-it-yourself) Kid’s Holiday Dipper Decorating Dec. 17-19 from 11am-2pm ($5.50 per child). For more event information, visit www.elicheesecake.com/calendar or call 773-205-3800.
Eli’s Cheesecake Bakery Café and Retail Store is open 7 days per week: Mon-Fri. 8am-6pm, Sat. 9am-5 pm, Sun 11am-5pm. Special holiday hours are Dec.23 open until 7pm and Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 closing at 3pm. We are closed Christmas and New Year’s Day. Shop the largest selection of Eli’s Cheesecakes and desserts anywhere!
Let us help you send a taste of Chicago’s Finest Cheesecake to your friends and family anywhere in the US! Eli’s Cheesecake will arrive picture perfect in a holiday gift box, custom insulated Styrofoam container and dry ice. To order, visit us 24/7 at shop.elicheesecake.com or call 1-800-ELI- CAKE Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm. Order by
Let us help you send a taste of Chicago’s Finest Cheesecake to your friends and family anywhere in the US! Eli’s Cheesecake will arrive picture perfect in a holiday gift box, custom insulated Styrofoam container and dry ice. To order, visit us 24/7 at shop.elicheesecake.com or call 1-800-ELI- CAKE Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm. Order by Dec. 18 at 11am CST for Christmas delivery.
If you would like to receive information regarding Eli’s Cheesecake’s Bakery Cafe activities or Mail Order specials, please join our mailing list at http://www.elicheesecake.com/join-mailing-list/.
Enjoy the holiday season!
Eli’s is a proud dessert sponsor of the 23rd annual Green Tie Ball taking place on Saturday, September 13th. The annual gala is the signature fundraising event for Chicago Gateway Green, which raises funds for Chicago’s Expressway Partnership Program. Chicago Gateway Green developed the Expressway Partnership program in 1999, joining the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois and Chicago’s corporate community to transform the city’s expressways into beautifully-landscaped parkways. Distinct from traditional ‘adopt-a-highway’ programs, Chicago Gateway Green develops and maintains sweeping landscapes which feature our sponsors, creating green ribbons of sustainable landscapes weaving throughout the city.
For more information on the Green Tie Ball, visit the event page.
The Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA) recently had the opportunity to speak with Eli’s Cheesecake owner Marc Schulman about his years in the industry, his favorite moments in the Taste of Chicago history and what’s new with the IRA Centennial restaurant today.
Eli’s Cheesecake is the only vendor to have been involved with the Taste of Chicago since its inception. What is your favorite thing about this annual food festival?
Of course, celebrating our birthday with Eli’s giant 1,000 pound cheesecake! And, spending five days outside in a t-shirt with my fellow restaurateurs…it’s like food camp. I also like meeting our customers and hearing what they have to say about our product.
Is there a one staple item at the Taste (besides your cheesecake of course!) that you have to get every year?
Robinson’s boneless rib sandwich, corn on the cob, watermelon and pizza. It is so much fun to walk down Columbus and Jackson taking in the crowds and deciding what new item (or old favorite) to sample.
Eli’s has been in the food business for over 70 years -any advice for achieving longevity in the restaurant/hospitality business? Biggest reward, biggest challenge?
It is an inspiring story about what can be achieved in the restaurant business! My dad went into the restaurant business accidentally in 1940 when he found his favorite west side (Ogden & Kedzie) coffee shop had gone out of business. Here we are 74 years later with a great history of achievements—first in the restaurant business, and most recently with Eli’s Stage Delicatessen and Eli’s the Place for Steak, and then my Dad introducing his signature Cheesecake at that first Taste of Chicago on July 4, 1980. Without Taste and without restaurant heritage, we would have never had the opportunity to grow into a national leader in supplying cheesecake and desserts to leading restaurants nationally.
What are the most memorable moments in Eli’s history?
Being with my parents, Eli and Esther, and my wife Maureen, at the Ceremony for Chicago’s 150th Birthday Cake at Taste of Chicago in 1987. When Mayor Washington couldn’t attend at the last minute, Bozo stepped in and read the resolution citing my parents for their contribution to Chicago and for creating the very special cake. We had so many friends of my parents in attendance and a huge crowd for the cake cutting so my parents really saw the success of Eli’s Cheesecake.
You’re known for making some giant cheesecakes around town. What are your thoughts on going for the Guinness Record?
At Taste alone, we sold over 5.2 million slices of Eli’s Cheesecake so that has to be a record in itself. The biggest Cheesecake we ever created was for Bill Clinton’s first inaugural in Washington DC in 1993. That Cake weighed over 2,000 lbs. and was red, white and “Bill” in honor of the new President.
What other exciting things does Eli’s have happening this year?
We turned National Cheesecake Day into a week of celebrations from July 30th to August 2nd. We travel around the City in our Cheesecake Mobile bringing slices to the staff and families at Lurie Children’s Hospital (on the former site of Eli’s the Place for Steak) and right across the street at Seneca Park and the Eli M. Schulman Playground. We also host a Classic Car Show at Eli’s Cheesecake with over 200 entries benefitting the New Horizons Center and have a “Meet the Maker” Day at our Thursday Farmers Market profiling the great local suppliers who make our cheesecakes and desserts so great. We also just introduced Eli’s Vegan Cheesecake with Tofu from Phoenix Bean on the north side of Chicago.
To read the interview on the IRA website, click here.
The Happiness Club will be having their annual benefit this Sunday, August 10th, at Park West Theater starting at 5pm. Tickets are $125 and include dinner, dessert and a live performance by The Happiness Club. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling 773-308-7019.
The Happiness Club is a group of Chicago kids who are committed to helping their peers by encouraging positive values and social change through original hip hop and pop music and dance. Diverse in age, race and background, The Happiness Club kids sing out against drugs, gangs and violence and say “Yes” to education, tolerance, high self-esteem, helping the environment and better nutrition for kids.
The Happiness Club won the City of Chicago’s Earth Day Video Contest with their entry “So Hot”, written to increase awareness of global warming. “Change the Game” which addresses better nutrition for kids, was featured on the First Lady’s CD Songs for A Healthier America, and the kids performed at the New York kick off event.
Other notable appearances include: The White House Easter Egg Roll, The “Celebration of Music Tour” with renowned conductor, Andre Rieu, the Green Carpet premiere of the film “Carbon Nation” at the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park, The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival and Kidzapalooza, the family stage at Lollapalooza.
The Happiness Club is an Illinois not-for-profit 501c3.
For more information, or to contribute, contact Maureen Schulman at (773) 908-6425.
57 Chevy classic car
Eli’s Big Slice mascot and the Eli’s Mobile
Today we enjoy over 100 Classic Cars at Eli’s Cheesecake World benefiting the New Horizon Center for the Disabled. Free Show. Free Parking. Featured are the Elis Mobile, Eli’s Big Slice Mascot, grilled lunch, live DJ, free samples and big store sale. We have the largest selection of Eli’s Cheesecake anywhere! A perfect end to our five day of festivities celebrating National Cheesecake Day.