A Brief History of the Cheesecake

Here at Luigi Malones, we’ve always been partial to a generous helping of cheesecake: our beloved Toblerone and Butterscotch creation has been on the menu for over a decade now, and isn’t going anywhere! Recently we decided to add the delicious Strawberry and White Chocolate cheesecake to our dessert menu, and as part of a formal introduction, we’re going to have a look at the origins of this classic dish.

Luigi Malones Strawberry & White Chocolate Cheesecake

Like many of the hallmarks of European civilization, the cheesecake is though to have originated in Ancient Greece. We know that athletes participating in the first Olympic Games circa 776BC favoured cheesecake as a source of energy, and it may also have served as wedding cake at Greek marriage ceremonies. This primitive forefather of the modern cream cheese masterpiece consisted of flour, wheat, honey and cheese; a lot less decadent than what we’ve come to expect! In what may be the first ever cheesecake recipe, the writer Atheneus instructs us to pound the cheese until it is smooth and pasty, mix the pounded cheese in a brass pan with honey and spring wheat flour, then to heat the cheese cake "in one mass", allow to cool and then serve. 

German Style Cheesecake

Not content with stealing the Greeks' architecture, alphabet, and even their gods, the Roman Empire soon claimed the cheesecake as their own. To their credit, the Romans did make some clever adjustments to Atheneus' classic recipe - adding eggs and crushed cheese, and baking the cake under a warm brick. Wherever the Romans conquered in Europe, the new and improved cheesecake came with them, so the dessert soon spread across the continent - and just as Roman governments naturalized their policies according to the region, so were the ingredients of the cheesecake modified according to what was available in the ares. Today, traditional Italian cheesecakes are made with ricotta, while Germany and the Netherlands use Quark, Poland favours twarog and Swedish uses rennet. Some countries prefer no bake cakes, which are usually more popular during the summer.

No Bake Cheesecake

However the definitive cheesecake handbook of the time, printed in 1545, described the dish simply as a 'flour-based sweet food'. The modern cheesecake is an American creation, and was brought about by the accidental invention of cream cheese in 1872. Popular American regional varieties include Chicago style (firm on the outside, soft in the middle), Pennsylvania-Dutch (tangy, and made with cottage cheese), and the classic New York style - a twice-baked cheesecake with a dense, rich consistency.

New York Style Cheesecake

Apart from the whole issue of whether your cheesecake is baked or refrigerated, there's a controversy over whether a cheesecake can even be called a cake! Some naysayers claim that the presence of the eggs as the sole source of leaving make it a torte, while others declare that the separate crust, soft filling and absence of flour make it a custard pie. But what's in a name? A cheesecake by any other name would taste as sweet!

Luigi Malones Toblerone & Butterscotch Cheesecake

So here's to the cheesecake: a dessert that exists in many unique and diverse forms, but is universally loved wherever it is served!

Landed in London

Sunday, October 13th 20: 15pm 

Tourists natter in harmony as they glide past my window, sweet acoustic sounds hum from a musician downstairs as a looming crescendo descends on the streets - a siren, a piercing noise which my Irish ears are acclimatising to. This pretty much sums up the sounds I hear tonight from my Georgian Flat in Shepherd’s Bush, London.

One thing I’ve quickly come to learn is that this city is not made for peace and quiet. It is made for living, for getting up and going, for seizing the moment for Carpe Diem. On a Sunday night when all I want to do is curl up with Nicolas Sparks’ latest novel and a cuppa Barry’s tea the city acts as a magnet, a distraction. It is possibly the most vibrant place on earth and at 22 the perfect place to pitch my anchor!!

I have just finished week two in my new job. I find it best to describe it in one sentence. The office is centred on a ping pong table. It has a unique culture where staff can converse on their headsets while playing a game of foosball, they go for a swim or a spinning class downstairs if they need a break. The people are the driving force of the business and it is amazing to be a part of it. It really draws parallels to working in Luigis in that the people are so friendly and lovely to work with. I don’t get the world’s best tasting wings on my lunch break or have the views of Emmet Place or Temple bar coupled perfectly with illy coffee at my fingertips and I certainly haven’t found a match to that famous Toblerone cheesecake...however I’m settling in just fine!!

For anyone thinking of making a move over to London – especially new grads like me. I can offer some advice, some things which  had I know 15 days ago would have make the last two weeks a lot less challenging.

1. Give yourself at least one week free to set up – there really is a lot to do! Don’t arrive the Saturday before you start work and hope for the best like me!!

2. Arrange somewhere to stay in advance; setting up and job hunting can be really tough. I stayed on a friends couch for a week – if you’re doing this invest in a blow up mattress and a pillow - your back will thank you for it later – and it will always come in handy for your own guests when you find a place of your own!!

3. Set up your UK number ASAP – otherwise you will have regrets when you see your Irish Phone bill. I went into the triple figures for one week ringing estate agents etc.

4. Decide what area you want to live in before you arrive. This makes house viewings easy. I wasted a lot of time on tube journeys from one end of the city to the other  - and this will tire you out, Pick an area, explore it, set up some viewing, pick your favourite – easy peasy!

5. You need an address to set up just about anything in London. So once you’ve found your place book an appointment to get your national Insurance Number and bank account.

And if you don’t plan on moving – I would urge anyone to allow themselves to be drawn into the powerful forces of London’s beauty!! It is an unbelievable city with so much to see and do – Even if it is just for a weekend break.

Just a couple more weeks until I'm home for Graduation from UCC - I'm excited to be going to Luigis with my Family to celebrate - I'm counting down the days to having  a slice of Toblerone cheesecake!

Stay tuned!

And I Said What About......Lunch at Luigis?

As I was walking to Luigis last week, this caught my eye.

Dozens of wooden hangers so carefully placed in unison keeping each other stable as they curve away from the concrete ground of Emmet Place. This frames a centre piece of sand, rocks and pebbles. It is so energising to see such a naturalistic piece amongst the city centre hustle and bustle.

Today as I made my way to Luigi’s I saw a man across from the artwork with a large trolley spotted with hangers...I pottered over to him to see if he was the person behind this beautiful sunny days project. Low and behold he was!

Today he had created a piece which from one angle looks like a human eye and from another it looks like a rowing boat. He let me take a picture of him sitting in his ‘boat’. He informed me that his inspiration came from the harmonisation he picked up from the energies exerted by the people around him. What an amazing approach to life!

After my very interesting encounter with this artist I couldn’t believe the time – it was nearing 2pm and definitely time for lunch! I really had worked up an appetite after such a busy morning so I ordering a BBQ pizza of the Luigi lunch menu.

While I was waiting for the pizza I enjoyed a nice cool Coke and chilled by the front of the restaurant. It is included in the lunch menu for a reasonable €9.75 so I said why not!

After about 20 minutes my delicious pizza arrived! I’d say the guests sitting near me must have thought I was an Instagram fanatic updating my status every 2 minutes with the amount of pictures I took of my lunch. It was difficult to capture just how amazing my pizza looked and it tasted even better! It didn’t take long before I had the whole thing devoured.

Top tip for Luigi Fans – ask for a portion of sweet chilli with your BBQ pizza it makes a very tasty dip!

I used Instagram to take pictures for today’s blog. It’s a great tool for any budding photographer to make everyday snaps picture perfect!This week at Luigis we are launching an exciting new Instagram competition – join the fun and find out more by checking out our Luigi Malones Facebook page at www.facebook.com/luigimalones

So that is all from me today I better get back to work!

Stay tuned,

Aisling.

Press The BIG Red Button

E- Mail marketing campaigns sound easy right? . . . Wrong!! It is a delicate art which is very difficult to handle with enough precision to be effective. They allow the administrator a creative license. The aim of the game is to charge this creativity into a campaign to cause a ripple effect of reaction to every person on the receiving end. However the reality is that often there is not an actual person on the receiving end. There is a spam folder, a firewall or well just thin air!

I began my first e-mail campaign at the beginning of July. I was completely excited about this creative opportunity. We spend a few mornings at the Luigi headquarters discussing ideas. Some were a little more bizarre than others...there may have been the idea of saying ‘Special offer on Viagra at Luigis’ in the subject line . . .just to grab attention! We shot this one down fairly lively but it gave us a laugh all the same. We tried and tested these e-mails with our colleagues. Once we found the most effective concept and tidied up any mistakes, it was time to send them out! We clicked the send button with anticipation. 

Low and behold – I waited and watched the results in utter despair. Over the course of the following week 28% opened the e-mail. Inside the e-mail was a big shiny red button where the receiver could book a table and avail of a very generous €10 voucher. Only 15% clicked!!! And did they all book a table...I’m afraid not. Quite honestly I felt quite hard done by after the time and effort we dedicated to this project. 

I found myself judging this situation in a different light when I logged into my own e-mail account that night. I found myself clicking delete on a whole range of e-mails. They were from deals websites I don’t remember subscribing to and my feathery friend Tripadvisor! I felt quite hypocritical, I realised the recipients of our e-mail were just doing the exact same thing. 

Our society has become bombarded with communication in recent years. Walking to work in the morning I pass several billboards encouraging me to change my mobile phone network provider, even though it seems like they are all giving me the same bang for my buck! When I check my post I receive supermarket vouchers for products I never buy. I log into my social media accounts and my side bar is composed of a collage of adverts distracting me from what I set out to do. I go home to kick back and relax, throw on my favorite TV show and find myself flicking through ads for nappies–which at this time in my life I have no need for! And to top the whole thing off - just as I sit down to a nice cup of tea – there is a knock on the door... ‘Would you like to switch over to Airtricty?’ NO THANKS ! 

As a recent graduate aiming to begin a career in marketing at least I enjoy advertising campaigns, I can get ideas and see what I feel is effective. However advertising can be a disruption to everyday life for most people who are exposed to hundreds every day! But when an advertisement swoops into our inbox we finally have a choice – will I expose myself to this or not? And I guess 72% of my recipients chose not! And I have to respect their choice in the matter! 

Now that my rant is well and truly out of the way I would like to suggest tips for e-mail marketers out there, especially newbies like me! The key thing to remember is that you have absolutely no control over how many people open and react to your e-mail communication. So take ownership of what you do have power over! 

5 Top Tips for Newbies like Me!!! 

1: Start from the very beginning!! Ensure that the details you receive are as clear as possible, ask people to fill out forms in block capitals and black pen or even better online. Make as few errors as possible at this stage to reduce the amount of spam folders that you are going to reach

2: Make sure you get permission to communicate to these people this is mandatory under the Data Protection Act. It is also important that people are given the option to opt out at every communication you make. 

3: Firewalls are your worst enemy!! You need to dodge them as much as possible. Keep things simple and don’t make your e-mail too fleshy or flashy. Anything out of the ordinary will be detected and thrown straight in the spam folder 

4: Treat every word like gold dust. You have 30 seconds max to impress so use them wisely. 

5: Know your recipients. If you’re targeting students do not contact them at 9am. I can tell you from experience they will most certainly not be awake and checking e-mails at this time! 

I am completely new to this and would like to welcome subscribers or readers with experience or tips to share them by simply leaving a comment on this post! 

Stay Tuned, Aisling

Luigis - It keeps you young!!

I spent last Saturday at Luigis on Emmet place. I relished the atmosphere! It was bustling with families, couples and tourists. I got a giggle from one gang of tourists in particular when they complemented us on our ‘free’ tap water. I imagine this was the first restaurant they had been to on their trip to Ireland! I particularity enjoyed meeting a Boisterous bunch of OAPs who frequent the restaurant every weekend for morning tea and scones. They were so cheerful and beaming with the joys of life. They couldn’t help but make me smile.

I took some pictures outside thinking I’d make the most of the 15 minutes of sunshine when one of the OAPs popped up to me and asked ‘what in God’s name I was up to’. I was hunched down like a rabbit aiming to get what I thought at the time to be quite a creative shot. I hopped up in shock and captured only a blurry mess. Unknown to myself I had been blocking the way to this gentleman’s bicycle. The second I mentioned I was working for the restaurant his whole reaction changed and it led to what I found to be quite an uplifting story. He told me about his treasured Saturday mornings when he mounted his bike for his weekly cycle to socialize with his friends- ‘keeps you young’ he said. He shared with me the fun times he had splitting a pizza with his wife and having a good laugh over coffee with his Friends at Luigis. He spoke about their special table they don’t even need to reserve. There is not as many chairs around the table as old times, but still great times all the same.

                  

This really made me think how Luigis is a home away from home – where guests feel comfortable and can kick back and relax and enjoy their meal. It also made me think about just how much I will miss this wonderful place after the summer. I will be winding things down over the next two weeks there is still quite a lot to do. It seems the things I thought would be a breeze when I started are more tedious than anticipated, while many of the foreseen challenges seem like a walk in the park. I began in June with a barrel of goals which I feel so close to touching. This Blog has been successful, this week has seen 1000 views being hit. This was my aim for the summer so hopefully we go above and beyond this – thank you to all of the subscribers! I am 100% new to the blogging world and I was expecting this aspect of the job to be a chore. However I have enjoyed it to so much. I will be continuing to document the rest of my year in the working world, this will begin shortly with my new job hunt and relocation.

The goal which I found to be more of a challenge was running an e-mail marketing campaign, this is a lot more complicated than I imagined. I want to get into this in more detail in my next blog post for anyone that is interested in finding out more. A task which I have learned so much from is analysing comment cards. Frankly, this was something which I expected would have my brain melted with boredom. However I have found this absolutely fascinating. After nearly two months of tidying up a database I feel like I may have developed OCD (only kidding). All joking aside working on a database has been such a worthwhile experience and has tightened up my attention to detail immensely. I have really enjoyed every aspect of this job. In next week’s post I will get into these tasks in more detail and let you know what I have been up to behind the scenes at Luigis.

Stay tuned,

Aisling

Hopelessly Devoted to . . . Luigi Malones!!

The past few weeks have seen flocks of early birds swarming into the restaurant for a pre- Opera House bite to eat.  It’s not just the location of Emmet Place that appeals to these pink ladies and t-bird fans. From meeting the hard core Opera House goers who attend on a regular basis, I was delighted to hear that the two big reasons they keep coming back is for variety and loyalty.

Opera House fans enjoy that the menu is varied, they can choose a new dish every time. They also are attracted to our loyalty scheme. 

They are ‘Royalty card’ holders which means they save 10% off their purchases at Luigi Malones. Once €50 is spent the customer automatically receives a €5 voucher redeemable at their next visit. And the great news - this card is available to everyone, simply call in, sign up and you can start using it right away! We are currently updating our loyalty system and I’ll keep you up to date on changes as we make progress with this.

As the Grease fans flee the restaurant like lightning at 8pm, we get a whole new set of clientèle  This is an electrifying time of the evening. We see hundreds of celebrations every week! Birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, hen and stag dos..the lot! Luigis really is the perfect location for parties of any size and any occasion – just be sure to book in advance to avoid disappointment!

If you are planning a flashback to the 1950s and a visit to Rydell high and the loveable couple Danny and Sandy - be sure to pop into us. We promise a great start to your night with our tasty food and friendly staff. And remember we cater for parties so try us out next time!

Grease is running in The Cork Opera House until this Saturday the 17th of July. Click this link to find out more about behind the scenes at 'Grease' http://corkoperahouse.wordpress.com/

Stay Tuned,

Aisling

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Today’s blog post  is for Mums and Dads, Big Sisters and Brothers, Aunts and Uncles, Babysitters, Godmothers and Godfathers...anyone who from time to time has ‘pitter- patters’ running about who they want to keep amused.

As I have mentioned before family activities can burn a hole in your pocket. Cooking is a simple activity to get the whole family together on a budget. I have a tried and tested recipe that kids love.

I got the idea from Luigi’s where we pride ourselves with the wide variety on our kids menu. A popular choice is ‘Build Your Own Pizza’ this option lights up children’s faces. They love having the choice to pick exactly what they like! 

As it says on the tin – this is The Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Pizza!! Here are the ingredients you will need for each pizza:

1. 2 tortilla wraps

2. Grated cheese

3. Half a clove of garlic

4. ¼ a small red onion

5. Half a tin of tomatoes

6. Staples: olive oil, Salt , pepper and sugar.

7. The toppings - this is completely up to you! I suggest mozzarella, ham, pineapple, pepperoni, peppers...whatever tickles your fancy really.

There is just six simple steps to the EPLS Pizza!

Step One: Take two tortilla wraps (you can get mini ones for small ones) take a tablespoon of Olive Oil and spread it evenly across one tortilla wrap and use it as a glue to sick the two together.

Step Two: Make the marina sauce – Cook the onions and garlic on a low heat (adults only) stir for 3-5 minutes and add half a tin of tomatoes. Let it simmer for 7 minutes season well and add a pinch of sugar to take away bitterness.

Step Three: Spread the marinara sauce evenly across your tortilla base and sprinkle generously with grated cheese.

Step Four:  Here is the really fun bit!!! Place all of your ingredients in the middle of the table. Give a pizza base each to the kids and let their imaginations run wild. Let them make funny faces out of vegetables or spell their name.

Step Five: Pop it into a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees and cook for 7 – 10 minutes until base becomes crisp.

Step Six: Serve your tasty treats to all the family!!

I hope you have fun with this recipe. Don't forget to come in and join us at Luigi’s where our chefs will make your kids pizzas to order. You can leave the EPLS pizzas at home and experience the scrumptious freshly handmade pizzas from our kitchen. 

At Luigi Malones, while the kids are waiting for their yummy dinner we provide crayons and drawings for them – take a look at our budding art gallery! We could do with some new additions.

My new project in the restaurant is to introduce customer comment cards! I cannot believe the response we have received over the week.  Today when I asked a customer what we could change to improve his experience he replied saying ‘please don’t change anything – that’s why we keep coming back’

From reviewing the comments it is the staff which are being praised repeatedly for how accommodating they are and for their excellent service – so  a big WELL DONE to the Luigi staff for making it such a wonderful place.

We hope to see you soon - best of luck with the EPLS Pizza!

Stayed Tuned,

Aisling