Izzy's Cheesecake

Growing up with a mother who made homemade cheesecake on a regular basis would leave most children content. But for David Izenstatt, he decided to take his mom’s cheesecake-making to a whole other level. “I went to Boston University and got a history degree…then came back to Maine and started cooking,” Izenstatt, Owner and Founder of Izzy’s Cheesecake, said. Izenstatt founded Izzy’s Cheesecake, based in Portland, Maine, in 1989 after attending the Culinary Institute of America and cooking at various places across the United States for several years. After one of the chefs he worked with asked him to make a chocolate cheesecake – which Izenstatt initially scoffed at, as he believed traditional cheesecake shouldn’t be tampered with – his innovative ideas for the product emerged and Izzy’s was born.