Eli’s Cheesecake Prepares for Annual NRA Show

May 18

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Starting Saturday May 20, Eli’s Cheesecake will participate in the 33rd annual National Restaurant Show (NRA Show) at McCormick Place in Chicago. This year we have expanded our new booth (#1625) which will be located in the south hall and encourage all to come taste our new products.

Eli's 2016 Team

Eli’s Team at the 2016 NRA Show.

Our exciting new products include Chocolate Hazelnut Crisp Cheesecake, Pecan Tart, Peppermint Bark Cheesecake, Cookie Butter Cheesecake and our no sugar added version of our Original Plain cheesecake.We’re also introducing a new Cuties Variety Pack, which includes four new flavors

Eli’s was honored  receive a FABI  2017 Award presented by the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show®  for our two newest desserts: Eli’s Butter Tart and Salted Caramel Tart. The award recognizes innovative food and beverage products.

The NRA Show is open to professionals in the food service and hospitality industry. If you can’t make it to the show, our new flavors will be available soon at shop.elicheesecake.com!”

 

Enjoy Eli’s at CAD’s Crystal Ball

May 4

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Mark your calendar for the Chicago Art Department’s Crystal Ball Fundraiser, Saturday May 13th, 7-11pm. Eli’s is a proud sponsor of this event, which is an evening of art, performance and learning. Guests will enjoy food, live workshops and an art auction. Buy tickets here.

Chicago Art Department, located in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, aims to benefit artists by exploring art and learning. Through exhibitions, artist residencies,  classes/workshops,  and community building, they are dedicated to cultivating new voices, ideas, and practices in contemporary art.


Job Shadow Day with CHSAS

May 3

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Eli’s was proud to host 14 food science students from the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS) once again for our annual Job Shadow Day!  The students learned about the history of Eli’s and many different aspects of our business. They visited each area of the bakery to learn how we scale, mix, bake, and decorate our products. To finish off their day, the students competed in a cheesecake decorating contest.

CHSAS is one of the only agricultural high schools in the country, located on a working farm. We enjoy a strong partnership with the school, providing job shadowing, mentor programs and internships. The Sustainable Agriculture Entrepreneurship Program is a summer internship for CHSAS students working with Eli’s, Wright College and Farmer’s Market vendors in partnership with The University of Illinois Extension Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science.

 

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Celebrate the James Beard Awards with Eli’s

Apr 25

Posted by dmarchok in Awards, Community, Events | No Comments

Known as the Oscars of the food world, The James Beard Foundation Awards are given for excellence in cuisine, culinary writing, and culinary education in the US. To celebrate the awards ceremony and gala, Eli’s is serving up some limited edition cheesecakes (and we even have the honor of serving them at the James Beard Awards Gala!). Here’s how you can get a taste:

1. Visit our Cafe in Chicago: We’re serving a James Beard-inspired dessert through May 1st in our Bakery Cafe, 6701 W. Forest Preserve Drive, Chicago. It’s creamy ricotta cheesecake slow-baked in small batches on a salty almond crust, topped with honey caramel and a handmade marzipan bee.

2. Visit our kiosk at the O’Hare Airport: On your way in and out of Chicago, stop by Eli’s Cafe in Terminal B, between gates B8 and B9 (next to the big dinosaur) to try our limited edition dessert.

3. Attend the James Beard Awards on May 1st: In partnership with the Illinois Office of Tourism, you can sample Eli’s at the James Beard Awards Gala in Chicago! To celebrate Eli’s being named a featured Illinois Made dessert, we’ve added apples (Abe Lincoln’s favorite) to our James Beard-inspired dessert and named it Honest Abe Apple Cheesecake. It’s made with Nielsen-Massey Vanilla and Koval Ginger Liqueur, two great Illinois companies, and wildflower honey produced by student bee keepers at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences.

Eli’s Vice President of Research and Development, Chef Diana Moles, and Executive Pastry Chef Laurel Boger, will be serving this fabulous dessert at the gala alongside the best chefs in the country.  Tickets are $500 and can be purchased here: https://jbftickets.myshopify.com/pages/tickets-general-public

4. Send a cake anywhere in the USA: For a more affordable taste, we’re offering a 9″ version of the Honest Abe Apple Cheesecake via mail order! Order here or call 800-ELI-CAKE.

Chef Diana Moles

Chef Diana Moles

Our James Beard-inspired Cheesecake

Our James Beard-inspired Cheesecake

Join Us For Our Annual Earth Day Seneca Park Spruce Up!

Apr 19

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This Saturday, April 22nd, join us at Seneca Park/Eli M. Schulman Playground for our annual Spruce Up and Firehouse Breakfast! 9am-12pm, 22 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago

Beginning at 9am, enjoy a free continental breakfast at Chicago Fire Department Engine Co. 98 (located right next door to the park). Then we’ll clean up the park to get ready for spring and summer visitors. If you’d like to attend, sign up here:  http://bit.ly/2oDm5cf

Eli’s Cheesecake Co. associates and community members come together to help spruce up the park on Earth Day each year. Seneca Park is located right off of Michigan Avenue, across the street from the former location of Eli’s the Place for Steak, Eli’s legendary steakhouse where he invented his famous cheesecake. It’s one of our favorite events, as the playground inside the park was named after Eli. This is the 28th Annual Friends of the Parks’ Earth Day Parks & Preserves Clean Up, taking place in parks throughout the Chicago area.

 

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Eli’s Cheesecakes Featured at Cavalia in Chicago

Apr 3

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You can enjoy Eli’s Cheesecakes at the Chicago production of Cavalia, at the Big Top at Soldier Field’s South Lot!

Cavalia’s new adventure, Odysseo, is an incredible show that features equestrian arts in a larger-than-life theatrical production. All ages will enjoy this spectacular performance featuring 65 horses (showcasing Iberian, Arabian and American quarterhorses) and 48 artists. Feed all of your senses at this amazing event with a slice of Eli’s Cheesecake, available at concessions. For tickets and more information, visit cavalia.com.

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Eli’s Cheesecake Honored to be Illinois Made

Mar 20

Posted by dmarchok in Announcements, Awards, Community, Events, Media Coverage | No Comments

Today we were featured by the Illinois Office of Tourism in the Illinois Made Global Makers campaign, featuring Illinois-made products in marketing to overseas visitors.  Eli’s has been proudly handmade in Chicago, Illinois, since 1980!

To celebrate,  Executive Pastry Chef Laurel Boger created this 300 pound cheesecake which was displayed today at the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois, and will be cut and served to attendees at the Illinois Governor’s Conference on tourism tomorrow.

It took 175 lbs. of cream cheese, 40 lbs. of sour cream, 50 lbs. of sugar, 130 eggs, 25  lbs. of cookie crust, 1 pound of  Illinois made  Nielsen-Massey Vanilla and 10 cups of wildflower honey produced by student bee keepers attending the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences to create this cheesy rendition of the Illinois State Capital.  In a nod to Lincoln and his love of apples, the giant cheesecake included a layer of Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake and the cake’s base was decorated with super-sized edible gold dusted chocolate pennies.

Enjoy a “slice” of our Illinois Made Cheesecake! Eli’s Honest Abe Apple Cheesecake is available for sale on our website.
Click here to order.

 

 

 

 

Eli’s & The Chicago Help Initiative Dinner

Mar 14

Posted by dmarchok in Charitable Initiatives, Community, Events | No Comments

On March 15th, Eli’s chefs and volunteers will serve dinner to those in need at the Chicago Help Initiative (CHI).

CHI began in November of 1999 when local Realtor Jacqueline B. Hayes invited various volunteers from her community to work together to provide for the increasing number of homeless in the area.  CHI provides access to food, health services, shelter and employment, and educates our neighbors on how to help the homeless and disadvantaged, with dignity and compassion. Eli’s has been honored to provide food for this event for the past 14 years!

Visit the Chicago Help Initiative to learn more. Special thanks to Eli’s volunteers for donating your time to this worthy event: Chef Antonio, Elsa, Mary, Sharon, Dora, Juana, Maria, Marc & Maureen.

 

Eli's at CHI

The Eli’s Team serving at CHI last year

Calling All Bakers!

Mar 13

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Enter our 4th annual “Cheesecake with an Irish Twist” bake off on Thursday, March 16th!

We’re all a little Irish this month at Eli’s. Help us celebrate St. Paddy’s Day and create your own original recipe for an Irish-themed cheesecake. Contest starts at 5:30pm at Eli’s, be sure to bring along your recipe and your finished dessert. The winner gets a year’s supply of Eli’s Cheesecakes (one per month for one year)! Past winners have included Apple Cider Cheesecake, Irish Coffee Cheesecake… even a savory cheddar cheesecake with a pretzel crust!

Register here or call 773-308-7031.

 

Two Eli’s Desserts Win FABI 2017 Awards

Mar 8

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Today we were honored to receive a FABI 2017 Award presented by the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show®  for two of our desserts – Butter Tart and Salted Caramel Tart!

FABI Awards are given to recognize innovative food and beverage products that make a significant impact in the restaurant industry. The Butter Tart is a sweet, gooey, chewy filling baked in a crisp all-butter pâte sucrée crust— and delicious served warm or cold. The Salted Caramel Tart features salted caramel topped with rich milk chocolate ganache, sprinkled with sea salt and layered atop a scratch-made all-butter pâte sucrée crust. These new tarts are handmade in small batches with the finest ingredients. They’ll be showcased throughout the exhibit halls at the NRA Show® 2017, held from May 20-23 in Chicago at McCormick Place, for industry professionals.

 

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