The Eli’s Cheesecake Cookbook: Remarkable Recipes from a Chicago Legend

The Eli's Cheesecake Cookbook captures the glory of this globally celebrated interpretation of one of America's favorite desserts. Eli's cheesecake began more than 35 years ago, rising to prominence first as a featured item at one of Chicago's most popular restaurants--Eli's The Place for Steak, a classic steakhouse and pillar of the city's culinary community that was also a noted celebrity watering hole. From Eli Schulman's first cheesecake creation at Eli's The Place for Steak to President Obama's 50th birthday cake, this book details the storied history of one of the nation's most famous desserts.

This cookbook includes 40 cheesecake recipes, including Original Plain, Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Rum Raisin, Belgian Chocolate, Espresso, and Banana, plus 10 signature steakhouse dishes like the acclaimed Liver Eli. Schulman is often credited with putting "Chicago-style" cheesecake, richer and creamier than its New York counterpart, on the map. Published to coincide with the 35th anniversary of Eli's Cheesecakes, this collection will allow home cooks to make the same cheesecakes that helped celebrate Mayor Rahm Emanuel's inauguration, Presidents Clinton and Obama's inaugurations, Abraham Lincoln's bicentennial, the City of Chicago's 150th birthday, the White Sox World Series, and more. As Eli Schulman might say, it's a helluva book.

Maureen Schulman is an award-winning publicist and a photographer who has been a part of the Eli’s cheesecake story since the beginning, when along with her father-in-law, Eli Schulman, and husband, Marc Schulman, she helped launch Eli’s cheesecake at the first Taste of Chicago in 1980. She is director of public relations of The Eli’s Cheesecake Company, serves as president of the board of The Happiness Club, sits on the board of the Magnificent Mile Foundation, and is a presidential appointee to the board of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. She lives in Chicago with her family.

Jolene Worthington, executive vice president of The Eli’s Cheesecake Company, has lectured on creating premium cheesecake at the American Institute of Baking and on the history of cheesecake before the Culinary Historians of Chicago, and trains young artisan bakers through the Eli’s Cheesecake Bakery. Before joining Eli’s in 1984, she wrote the ＂Cooks Tools＂ column for the Chicago Tribune, served as culinary consultant for the Time-Life cookbook series ＂Good Cooks,＂ and wrote for Cuisine magazine. She is a member of the board of Slow Foods Chicago, has served on the governing board for the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, and is a board member and mentor for the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. She lives in Chicago, IL.

Tara Lane is an award-winning pastry chef and a culinary innovation consultant. She apprenticed at New York’s François Payard before garnering national acclaim as the executive pastry chef at the restaurants Blackbird and Avec in Chicago. She earned a bachelor’s degree in fine art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a master’s degree in design methods from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and trained at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Portland. She also worked as a food preservationist at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, where she focused on food advocacy and policy issues. She lives outside of Austin, TX.

Diana Moles is vice president of research and development at Eli’s Cheesecake Company, where she oversees Eli’s chefs and bakers in developing new products. Her received her professional training at the American Institute of Baking and the Culinary Institute of America. She also teaches pastry classes in the greater Chicago area. She lives in Chicago, IL.

Peter McCullough is CEO of McCulloughPhoto, a photography firm specializing in architecture, commercial design, and concept photography. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, he began his career as chef at the award-winning McMasters, and was executive sous chef at the Kensington Hilton in London and the Chicago Hilton and Towers. He lives in Chicago, IL.

Born and raised and still living in Chicago, Rick Kogan has worked for the Chicago Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times, and the Chicago Tribune, where he is currently a senior writer and columnist. Named Chicago’s Best Reporter in 1999 and inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 2003, he is the creator and host of WGN radio’s ＂Sunday Papers with Rick Kogan＂ and the author of a dozen books.