Creamy confectionary tastes, bites of unique and lasting flavors, and packaging perfect for any cheesecake lover. A visit from San Francisco Cheesecake left the palates here at DeliMarket News feeling blessed and satiated from the 12 different flavor profiles tried in our office for this product showcase.
Company Owner Peter Rizos, who was gracious enough to drop by bearing an armful of desserts, shared his inspiration and culinary vision with us, and left the DeliMarket team raving about the lasting impressions his hand-crafted cheesecakes left on our tastebuds.
“A discerning San Francisco palate and a love of desserts inspired me to create cheesecakes, but it’s the collaboration with my local culinary associations that provide a never-ending source of novel flavor combinations,” says Peter. "Our cheesecakes are all natural including our use of rBST free cream cheese, butter, milk, and sour cream. We use local vendors for all our ingredients, including our dairy ingredients which have recently switched to Challenge Dairy so that even these ingredients are made in California. Additionally we make our own graham cracker and chocolate cookie crumbs for our crusts. Our crusts have been so popular, especially at the Fancy Foods show, that we are also offering our graham crumbs for sale in retail 12oz bags and foodservice 20 pound boxes."
Peter's experience as a veteran restauranteur is paramount to delivering quality product to consumers.“Taking inspiration from my travels and 20 years in the local restaurant business - including more than 10 years running Caffe DeLucchi in the hip North Beach district - I’ve learned that a quality dessert makes people happy, and is the perfect way to finish a meal,” said Peter.
Peter is very friendly and outgoing, making friends wherever he goes, explaining why his collaborations with other local companies are frequent and well-received. Notably, SF Cheesecake Co. teamed up with a local brewer and distillery to create custom recipe cheesecakes for special events. One such collaboration led to a Double Chocolate Stout SF Cheesecake made with Marin Brewing Company.
"The filling is made with MBC Breakout Stout, 72% dark chocolate from Guittard and a hint of dark malt and espresso over our unique roasted barley, oatmeal graham cracker crust. It is topped with a sprinkle of semisweet chips as well," Peter tells us.
The other notable collaboration was with a Whiskey-style Gin producer West of San Francisco, Spirit Works. This time Peter's creativity yielded a Barrel Gin Dulce de Leche and Dark Chocolate Sloe Gin SF Cheesecake.
Peter explains, "We made these for a special event at the Spirit Works Distillery in Sebastopol. The Barrel Gin Dulce de Leche cheesecake used Spirit Works Barrel Gin with dulce de leche and a splash of lemon, lime, and cardamom over our graham cracker sea salt crust. The Dark Chocolate Sloe Gin had Spirit Works Sloe Gin, and 72% dark chocolate from Guittard, over our chocolate cookie crust." Timo Marshall, 
Proprietor of Spirit Works Distillery, said, "Their cheesecakes were phenomenal! We were thrilled to have our Barrel Gin and Sloe Gin presented so uniquely and in such a delicious bite. Thank you San Francisco Cheesecake Company!"
Peter also wants everyone to know that he also makes a Chocolate Fernet Cheesecake too, as Fernet is a very popular choice of liquor among San Franciscans.
"The filling is made with Fernet Branca and 72% dark chocolate with a splash of espresso, over a ginger graham cracker crust." He continues by saying, "Fernet, you may or may not know, is one of THE shots for industry people in SF. The surprising thing about the flavor of the cheesecake is how the mint in the fernet comes through."
Of the company's extensive selective offerings, our team tried the following flavors in office:
Each flavor had each of us coming back for more, and battling over the last bites of the strong yet smooth flavors that makes San Francisco Cheesecake a lasting dessert contender.
DeliMarket News can't wait to see what this company bakes up next as they continue to grow and create. As Peter himself has said, “The proof is in the cheesecake.” Thank you, Peter!
