- 6 hours ago
What does it really take to keep a 250-item menu running every day? In this video, Natalie goes behind the scenes at The Cheesecake Factory to find out. From the kitchens where more than 600 fresh ingredients are transformed into the restaurant's most popular dishes to the servers who average 25,000 steps in a shift, she gets an inside look at the people, preparation, and systems that make it all work.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hey guys, I'm Natalie and today we're here at the Cheesecake Factory.
00:03Oh my god!
00:05The Cheesecake Factory serves more than 250 menu items
00:08and somehow they're all made from scratch.
00:10This is where all the secret ingredients are.
00:12I'm going behind the scenes to see how the internet's most popular
00:15Cheesecake Factory dishes are prepared.
00:16Then I'll try them to see why people are so obsessed.
00:19This is not what you're expecting.
00:20Let's go.
00:22Hey guys!
00:24Welcome into the Cheesecake Factory.
00:25Thanks, Jay.
00:26Here's where we have 600 different ingredients
00:28that composes our 250 different menu items.
00:32Wow.
00:32I was already checking out all of the ingredients and seasonings up here.
00:35Most of them I haven't heard of,
00:36so I'm really excited to see what y'all have in store.
00:38Well, you're going to have a tasty experience today.
00:40I hope you're ready.
00:41Yeah, I'm pumped.
00:44We're going to cook some pasta for our macaroni and cheese balls.
00:47That's a lot of pasta.
00:48That's just a small sample.
00:50Do you feel like there is actually a secret to cooking pasta perfectly?
00:54Perfectly salted pasta water.
00:55Do not ever cook pasta when the water's not a roll and boil.
00:59Sounds good to me.
01:00Okay, so we've got a lot of cheese and I love cheese.
01:02If you love cheese, you're going to love our macaroni and cheese balls
01:04because we're going to take this fresh cheese
01:06and grate it for the macaroni and cheese base.
01:08It's like a giant KitchenAid mixer.
01:10It is.
01:11Like, whatever.
01:11That's exactly right.
01:12I'm a fan of a big bowl.
01:14I'm not a fan of washing it.
01:16Do you ever, like, sneak little bites?
01:18I would.
01:19What do you have in here on it, Fontina?
01:21Oh, yeah.
01:21Jack?
01:22Jack, cheddar.
01:22Yeah, light.
01:24Creamy, yeah.
01:25So this is fantastic because, as we all know, pre-grated cheese has that, like, dust on the
01:29outside and it doesn't stay as, like, gooey.
01:31The dust that you refer to on the outside of it thickens the sauce more than I would like.
01:35You can't control the thickness of the sauce, right?
01:37With freshly grated cheese, you can control every bit of the texture and the flavors that we would like.
01:42Perfect every time.
01:43Yes.
01:43There's more than 42 ingredients in our mac and cheese base.
01:46So the base is cool.
01:47She's going to roll a few.
01:48She's going to bread them.
01:49And then I'm going to ask you to glove up and have you do one so you can get the
01:53experience
01:53as well.
01:54Is that okay?
01:54I'm ready to party.
01:55Okay, so I'm scooping.
01:55You're going to get a nice scoop.
01:56Take that, flatten it out.
01:57Oh, flatten it out.
01:58Scoop it?
01:59Scoop it.
02:00Roll it in the flour.
02:01It should be very delicate in your hand.
02:03Yeah, it's like a little cheese, baby.
02:04Giving it a little bath.
02:06Roll that.
02:06We would like you to keep one hand dry, one hand wet.
02:09Well, you're asking too much.
02:12Here we go.
02:13That was great.
02:13Is that enough?
02:14There you go.
02:15Beautiful.
02:16It's going to be the best one.
02:17Okay, so it looks like we're making some sauce.
02:19This is our first step in making a creamy marinara sauce that accompanies our mac and
02:22cheese balls.
02:23We're going to roast these Roma tomatoes.
02:25The creamy marinara sauce is made with 14 ingredients.
02:27So nothing from a jar?
02:29Oh, no.
02:29Made from scratch.
02:30You can temper things out.
02:32You can elevate sauce.
02:33You can elevate sweetness when you make it in-house, you know?
02:36So this is literally a giant skillet.
02:38Exactly.
02:39Skillet, stock pot.
02:41You can sear in there.
02:42You can boil.
02:43You can simmer.
02:44I'm just going to peel through your tomatoes.
02:46Drop three of them in there and it will be done.
02:48This is like its own perfume.
02:50Everything in here is like sized for a giant.
02:53We're going to burr mix this a little bit just to infuse all the flavors and get this to the
02:57right consistency.
02:59Yum.
03:00I'm super excited about this.
03:02Next up, we're going to have our finished fried macaroni and cheese balls.
03:05I think we have the one that you rolled as well.
03:07Oh, good.
03:09You're starting to see that cheese ooze out of the mac and cheese.
03:11Yeah.
03:12That means it's perfectly heated.
03:13The exterior has this crispy, crunchy, cheesy shell.
03:17I'm crying.
03:18That looks beautiful.
03:19I'm serious.
03:19I'm going to go ahead and taste them right here.
03:22Look at that.
03:26That's good.
03:26Mm-hmm.
03:27Gooey inside.
03:28Gooey, cheesy.
03:28Cheesy.
03:29It's good.
03:29You can't forget these.
03:30There we go.
03:33So what is one of the first things that employees here learn?
03:37Our menu.
03:38We have like a two-week class where we sit and we try all of the food.
03:43Natalie, would you be able to memorize this whole menu?
03:45No, I wouldn't.
03:46I wouldn't.
03:47I wouldn't do that.
03:47I can't memorize anything.
03:50Probably the Pledge of Allegiance.
03:54So I heard that the avocado egg rolls is the biggest seller here at Cheesecake Factory.
03:58They're teeter from month to month with being either number one or number two,
04:02fighting with the macaroni and cheese balls.
04:04I get to see what the hype is all about.
04:05There you go.
04:05We have some sun-dried tomatoes, some finely minced onion, some cilantro,
04:10some other seasonings in there, and then a little light special sauce that we like to put
04:14in it that gives our avocado egg rolls a little kick.
04:18See you, Phil.
04:20Oh.
04:22Hot damn.
04:24That is insane.
04:25You're getting one step closer to eating your first egg roll.
04:28That's what I like to hear.
04:29Because we're going to roll the egg rolls now.
04:31Okay.
04:32Here we go.
04:34You tuck in those shoulders.
04:36Beautiful.
04:37Right there.
04:37Lay them down.
04:38Fold that one over the top.
04:39Roll tight and press.
04:41Not bad for your first one.
04:42Mine's not as good as hers.
04:44Just hide it.
04:44Just don't show people that one.
04:47We're going to fry some rice sticks for our avocado egg rolls.
04:50A little bed of loveliness for the avocado egg rolls to sit on.
04:53This is so fun.
04:54I want to do this for my birthday party because it's almost my birthday.
04:57I'm going to be 27.
04:59I'm 53.
05:00What the hell?
05:00Why?
05:01How?
05:01I was born 53 years ago.
05:03I would ask how old Cheesecake Factory is, but I did Google it.
05:06What's her?
05:07Like the good millennial I am.
05:08I don't remember the year, but I do remember it started in someone's house.
05:12David's mom's basement.
05:13And then they moved to LA.
05:15Yep.
05:15And they started the franchise.
05:16They started selling cheesecakes to other restaurants.
05:20Which is crazy.
05:21Yeah.
05:21Nice light golden brown crispy.
05:23These avocados should be nice.
05:25Those are huge.
05:26Hot inside.
05:28Presentation means a lot, you know, so.
05:30So now we're finally getting to try the top appetizer sold at Cheesecake Factory.
05:43I knew the mix was good.
05:45When I heard it was the most popular, I never really understood it.
05:47Even though I love avocados.
05:49This is not what you're expecting.
05:51It's so good.
05:52I would not share.
05:56What is the weirdest request or customization that you have been asked while working here?
06:01Probably when people order a peanut dish and they're allergic to peanuts.
06:05There is this lady that comes in.
06:07She's a regular.
06:08And she always likes to get the Thai lettuce wraps.
06:11It comes grilled, but she'll ask for it with no char.
06:14You know, you normally have like the char marks on the chicken.
06:18She just wants some boiled chicken.
06:19We're not doing that.
06:23So on a scale from one to ten, how spicy is the spicy chipotle pasta?
06:27I'm going to say about a five.
06:29Okay.
06:30But it's well balanced.
06:30It's not just spicy.
06:31It's sweet and spicy.
06:33So.
06:33How many cups working simultaneously in one night?
06:36It could be upwards of 22.
06:38A seven in prep.
06:40About 15 on the line.
06:41Yeah.
06:42Absolutely not.
06:43I would fight people.
06:45Just trying to achieve some caramelization out here.
06:47This has good reach spice.
06:48Oh yeah.
06:49It has some seasoning, some sugar.
06:51I'm very impressed.
06:53There's so many fresh ingredients.
06:55They go into each and every plate.
06:57I wasn't expecting that, but it makes sense because their food is so good.
07:01So this is a tomato base?
07:03Yes.
07:03And then we're going to add the cream.
07:05It needs to temper the spice as well, but also make this pasta really saucy, creamy, and delicious.
07:12Nice Parmesan cheese in there now.
07:14It's going to add a little nuttiness, make it all clean, make it silky.
07:18Slice cilantro that we were slicing on that.
07:20Nice job on the drain in that pasta, not letting it over drain.
07:23That was excellent.
07:24Perfect amount of sauce in there.
07:26That's picture perfect.
07:29That made me happy.
07:30Okay, so this is the spicy chipotle chicken pasta.
07:35So that means every bite has to have a piece of chicken in it for you.
07:41It should be spicy.
07:43Some sweetness hitting that.
07:45Those garlic shallots probably woke up a little bit and that cheese is rounding everything out.
07:49That chicken is so tender.
07:50It's like a sweet heat.
07:51There's a little smokiness in there.
07:53It's creamy.
07:54That is good.
07:55On a scale of one to 10, how spicy is this for you now that you had it?
07:58I would say a three or four.
08:00Yeah, okay.
08:01I'm from Louisiana.
08:02Oh, that makes sense.
08:03I was born with like Tabasco sauce in my bottle.
08:06No, it's a good heat.
08:07It builds also as you eat this.
08:08Yeah, I would order this again.
08:13Have you guys ever counted your steps during a shift?
08:16Yes, absolutely.
08:17And which one of you is winning with the most steps?
08:19So he says he wins, but he doesn't.
08:20There's just no way.
08:22I do.
08:22My average is about 25,000 steps.
08:24And I just walked 28,000 the other day.
08:27On a Friday or Saturday night, we averaged like 25 to 30,000 steps.
08:3130,000 steps.
08:32The last time I took 30,000 steps, it was at Disney World.
08:37Now, I love a meatloaf.
08:39Well, then you're in for a treat because this is our meatloaf prep.
08:42Smells fantastic.
08:43We're softening the onions, peppers, and some mushrooms for our meatloaf right now.
08:49So this is heavy cream?
08:49It's evaporated milk.
08:51Evaporated milk.
08:51And what is this?
08:52That's our version of tomato glaze.
08:55Some people use ketchup, just solo ketchup.
08:58I think there's about eight different ingredients in there to
09:00intensify the flavors a little bit more.
09:02Sounds way better than my ketchup.
09:04What's this, the last sauce that he threw on?
09:06That's a little secret ingredient that we have in there.
09:09I'll get that later.
09:11There's a couple of things that, in my opinion, makes our meatloaf special.
09:14We just talked about the tomato glaze inside versus just the straight ketchup.
09:18But also, I think the way we mix our meatloaf by hand and make sure that it's not overly packed.
09:24See, I was gently folding that.
09:25You soften the breadcrumbs that way.
09:27You're trying to flavor this mixture.
09:29If you just left this in here now, added meat to it.
09:32Now you really have to overly work the meat to get all the distribution of the ingredients
09:35evenly through the meat.
09:36I think meatloaf gets a bad rap sometimes because people think it's like dry and dense,
09:41but they're just making it wrong.
09:43Yeah.
09:43This mixture right here looks so creamy to me.
09:45I can see where it would be moist, not as dense as maybe your grandmother's.
09:48If you go a little more wet with the fat content in our meat, it'll fall apart.
09:52Our cooks have to be very diligent in measuring and weighing everything so it's perfect.
09:56This one ounce of liquid too much will make our meatloaf crumble and fall apart.
10:01You've got this down to a science.
10:02Yeah.
10:03In total, there's about 25 ingredients in our meatloaf.
10:05That's very uncommon at home, right?
10:07Even I make meatloaf at home.
10:09I don't use 25 ingredients, right?
10:10I'm not pulling out 25 ingredients.
10:11But we do at Cheesecake Factory to make it a little bit more special than everyone else's.
10:14We have a kicked up tomato glaze, we like to call it here.
10:17We're going to lather that, stick that back in the oven, let it caramelize a little bit.
10:21The caramelization is going to add a little intense flavor to this already.
10:26And now that's been long enough, let's check out the finished product.
10:30Beautifully glazed.
10:31Yeah.
10:31That's going to be delicious.
10:32It smells amazing.
10:33We're moving over to our mushroom gravy base made with 20 ingredients.
10:37Yum.
10:37I didn't know we're getting a gravy on the meatloaf.
10:39Flavors on top of flavors.
10:40It's a well-balanced act when it's done correctly.
10:43We're going to start with our grilled onions.
10:44I love a grilled onion.
10:46Lightly sweetened, natural sugars from the onions come out and we add a little
10:50turbinado sugar to that as well.
10:52That salt and pepper mixed in there and we're going to cook these evenly.
10:57Beautiful.
10:57Yeah.
10:58Perfectly caramelized.
10:59You go from a lot to very little, but...
11:01Yeah, it's like spinach.
11:02The flavor intensifies greatly, right?
11:04Awesome.
11:04It adds a depth of flavor to the meatloaf and many other items that we use with our grilled onions.
11:08We have our meatloaf.
11:09It's still that excitement time.
11:11All of those ingredients, all those flavors.
11:13We're going to get to heating the meatloaf and we'll assemble the meatloaf.
11:16Is it three slices to an order?
11:18Why do this one perfect and...
11:19It's feeding my whole family.
11:20Now I know why the temp is set to 65 degrees.
11:24Beautiful.
11:25If I see mashed potatoes, I might start crying.
11:29Creamy, lumpy, bumpy.
11:31Oh my God.
11:32Do you ever sneak little snacks off the line?
11:35I taste all day long to the point where I leave here and I don't think I should eat dinner.
11:41Yes.
11:41Yeah.
11:41That's why mom's never...
11:43I feel like you never see mom eating dinner because she's always taking bites all the way.
11:47That's some serious gravy.
11:49My meatloaf never looks that good.
11:51Oh yeah.
11:51I didn't know meatloaf could be so beautiful.
11:54That is famous.
11:55That's why.
11:55You're going to make somebody really happy with that, my friend.
11:58Here we go.
12:03That's like a hug on a plate.
12:05A big hug on a plate.
12:06This is great.
12:06It's so tender.
12:07It's got a little sweetness with all the tang.
12:09I love it.
12:12I won't be making this at home.
12:14I'll just be buying it from Chef Jay.
12:19Here we have the iconic free bread.
12:22What is the most a table has ordered?
12:25About six.
12:26And the surprising thing is when they first came in, they said they were on a diet.
12:31It's always the person on a diet.
12:33Yes.
12:33Everybody has their favorite loaf.
12:35The brown bread, of course.
12:36Yeah, same.
12:39We're going to work on some julienne carrots for our Thai lettuce wraps.
12:43This is my favorite dish, by the way.
12:44Is it really?
12:45Yeah.
12:45This is what I order every time we have at work.
12:47I order Thai lettuce wraps.
12:48Over 80 ingredients to make this one dish.
12:51And we're going to start by marinating our Thai chicken tenders.
12:54Now is there mustard in there?
12:55There's no mustard in there.
12:57It's just the color of the curry.
12:58Interesting.
12:59The tenders are marinated in a little coconut milk, a little curry.
13:03It helps tenderize the meat as well, but also infuses a ton of flavor in it.
13:07Jay, what would you say is one ingredient that you go through the most here at Cheesecake Factory?
13:10That's very easy.
13:11Because if we were not the Cheesecake Factory, we would be the Chicken Cake Factory.
13:15We go through about 2,000 pounds of chicken a week.
13:19Wow.
13:20Tenders to breast, tenders being the most used.
13:23We have a new dish on our menu, pickle fries.
13:25And that surprised me.
13:27We use about 100 pounds of those a week.
13:28Our next addition will be our Thai coconut curry noodles.
13:32It's a little coconut milk, a little curry.
13:34Same ingredients that went on a chicken.
13:36We're going to flavor these noodles with.
13:38It provides a nice texture also.
13:40That little chew in there, right?
13:42It reminds me of like sweet coconut rice.
13:44That's right.
13:44Some stuff, yeah.
13:45Okay, so next we're going to mix our Bangkok marinade together.
13:49So it looks like you've got some garlic, some ginger, some other special things in here.
13:53We do.
13:54You've got a heat, sweet.
13:55A little bit of heat, more sweet.
13:57So sweet from the coconuts, sweet from a couple of sweeteners that we add in here.
14:01Honey being one.
14:02All I know is it's perfectly balanced.
14:04It is very nice.
14:05This is where all the secret ingredients are.
14:08It's back.
14:11No, I could just drink it with a straw.
14:17Yummy?
14:18That's a 10 out of 10.
14:19Easily.
14:20Okay, Natalie.
14:21So we showed you some of our prep recipes.
14:23We're going to put it all together now.
14:25This is making me really happy.
14:26This is what I love about food is all the bright colors.
14:28Try to time this perfectly where everything stays ice cold
14:31and have that chicken come off the grill and it's nice and hot.
14:34So during peak rush hours, about how many tickets are firing at once?
14:38Maybe 50 checks, tickets on the line at one time.
14:42Wow.
14:42Yeah.
14:42We got the noodles, the cucumbers, those carrots, and those little sprouts.
14:48Is that what it called?
14:49Bean sprouts.
14:50Yes.
14:50It's like having a salad without feeling like you're having a salad.
14:53That's right.
14:53These are really fun handhelds that you can eat.
14:55It's a fun salad.
14:56Fun and delicious at the same time is always good.
14:58They're like little bikini tops.
15:00Sweet red chili dipping sauce.
15:02That's the good one.
15:03And that green.
15:03Tamarind cashew and spicy peanut.
15:06We've got layers on layers.
15:07Which sauce is your favorite?
15:08The green.
15:09The green.
15:09Tamarind cashew.
15:10Yeah.
15:10The sweet red chili dipping sauce is mine.
15:12It's good.
15:13I have never had that anywhere else.
15:15Our final dish, which I understand is your favorite.
15:17Yes.
15:18Let me show you how to properly make a Thai lettuce wrap.
15:21Nice technique.
15:22I like to go ahead and dip the cucumbers in there.
15:25A little bit of sprouts.
15:27My favorite sauce.
15:29A little fresh cilantro.
15:31Tell me that doesn't look good.
15:35Dude.
15:36That's it?
15:36I could cry.
15:37I've been thinking about this for weeks.
15:39It's the curry.
15:40It's the sweetness.
15:41It's the heat.
15:42It's a fresh cilantro.
15:43The nutty sauce.
15:45The best thing is that it's fresh.
15:47Restaurant's opening.
15:48I got to get back there.
15:49Is this where we part?
15:50This is where we part.
15:51It's really sad.
15:51It's been a pleasure.
15:52Thank you so much.
15:52I've had so much fun.
15:54And what would a trip to Cheesecake Factory be without a little dessert?
15:57Let's get some to go.
16:04Cheesecake secured.
16:06It's a little secret between me and you.
16:08I don't even like cheesecake.
16:14This is a dream.
16:15It's light and fluffy.
16:16It's not too heavy, not too dense.
16:18And there's a nice balance of salty and sweet, which I really like.
16:22Oh, there's cake on the bottom.
16:23I actually think Cheesecake Factory has converted me to a cheesecake lover.
16:29Hey, girl.
16:30Well, hey.
16:31What you doing?
16:32I'm just eating some cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory in my car.
16:35Because everything tastes better in the car.
16:37A hundred percent.
16:37Well, please bring me some back.
16:39This is the only thing that you could do.
16:40You got it.
16:42Normally, I'll a lit in the car so you can do one of these days.
16:42Bye.
16:42Bye.
16:42Famer, bye.
16:42Bye.
16:43Bye.
16:44You
Comments