Ready to talk about innovative R&D? Here’s an example involving even more letters—as in the four T’s of “trends,” “technology,” “taste” and “texture.” They’re artfully demonstrated in Eli’s S’Mores Cheesecake, which debuted in spring 2024 for restaurant operators.

This May, the 10-inch, 96oz cheesecake earned one of the National Restaurant Association’s coveted 2025 FABI Food & Beverage Awards. This fall, Prepared Foods’ Spirit of Innovation award judges also recognized it as the “best new foodservice” offering addressing front-of-house consumer trends.

Still got room for dessert after the meal? Those consumers can satisfy a sweet tooth with a 6.8oz serving (one of 14 pre-sliced portions) that offers a combination of smoky chocolate ganache, hand-toasted marshmallow topping and a crunchy graham streusel border crown. The cheesecake also features graham cracker and bittersweet chocolate chunks—all baked on a salted graham crust.

“We were inspired by the ‘newstalgia’ trend,” says Chef Diana Moles, senior vice president of innovation at Eli’s. “After initial planning sessions with sales, marketing, and the culinary team, we decided on S'mores Cheesecake. But it was a challenge to emulate something so simple that everybody loves. All departments had to come together to translate this idea into a cheesecake.”

Those initial discussions became a five-month exploration of food technology, taste and texture for Eli’s R&D and culinary departments.

“Everyone focuses on the chocolate part of the S'Mores, but our chefs wanted to highlight the graham cracker,” notes Elissa Narow, research and development chef. “After testing, the team created a cheesecake batter by infusing milk with graham meal and adding it to cream cheese. After a series of inter-departmental sensory evaluations, our R&D Team adjusted the amount of graham to create the perfect balance and the result was magical!”

A Deep Dive into the Future of Food & Beverage

Narow adds, “We also wanted a nice crunchy graham cracker layer on top of the cake but it became mushy after baking and then freeze-thaw conditions. We switched paths and used something we have decades of experience with: streusel. But we made it with graham meal to achieve the graham flavor.”

The next challenge was how best to incorporate chocolate. Moles says Eli’s started with brownie pieces decided after another round of sensory evaluations that chocolate chunks added the right flavor and texture. The company’s chefs also added a layer of chocolate ganache (with natural smoke flavor) to reinforce a campfire flavor. Last but not least, she says Eli’s decorating team learned it was more efficient to apply the chocolate ganache on top of the batter.

“Sensory-wise, we discovered that the chocolate and smoke hit your palate sooner [on top] than if it were at the bottom of the cake,” says Moles.

Interestingly enough, Moles says the dessert’s most challenging aspect was the marshmallow fluff.

“We needed a kosher marshmallow (made without gelatin) that would hold up through freeze-thaw. After much development work, the R&D team created a fluff with starches to bind the egg whites and mimic what the gelatin would do,” says Moles. “We also had to test and adjust the amount of fluff. Too much—and the topping will tug and pull when cut. After testing, we figured out the perfect amount both for optimal flavor as well as operations.”

Speaking of optimal, Eli’s couldn’t forget about the restaurant operator’s optimal back-of-house prep experience.

“When we cut our cheesecakes, we initially put a piece of parchment paper in between each slice for ease of handling,” recalls Moles. “Yet we faced even one more challenge because our marshmallow fluff layer stuck to the parchment. Our cutting team quickly pivoted and switched to waxed paper to solve the problem.”

With that, Eli’s was ready to push out its “newstalgic” new offering.

“We are rebooting a childhood favorite with sophisticated flavors and textures,” says Moles. “We’re delivering a campfire favorite—without the campfire.”