Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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“Famous for its cheesecakes”
according to a note at L&M for 23 June 1661 (Vol. II, p. 125).
On 1 April 1663, Pepys calls it the “cheese-cake house” (L&M renders it “Chescake-house”).
Cheesecakes of some sort have a long history. This site claims they were known in Ancient Greece:
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blcheesecake.htm
The ancient Romans had them, and various cultures make a similar dessert in various ways, according to this site:
http://www.foodmuseum.com/ask.html
And in 17th-century England, of course they had cheese cake recipes, such as this one:
http://www.godecookery.com/engrec/engrec76.html
Interesting parallel, of a sort: In the U.S. today, there’s a nationwide chain of restaurants called “The Cheesecake Factory” begun by a couple with a great cheesecake recipe in Los Angeles, which confirms (just as Pepys does) that the cheesecake is a strong foundation on which to build an eatery’s reputation.
http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/aboutus.htm
CHEESECAKE QUOTES AND LINKS
at this post:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/395.php#c29481