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Inside Eats with Rhett & Link will be visiting The Cheesecake Factory in its third episode on May 1, 2022, on Food Network. Hosts and lifelong friends Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal will explore different flavor combinations and dishes to reveal the unknown secrets of the popular food joint.
The reality show premiered on the television network on April 24, 2022, and since then has left viewers excited and intrigued about the concept. The first two episodes have already been a hit amongst the audience, leaving them excited for the duo to explore another popular food store.
The official synopsis of Episode 3 of Inside Eats with Rhett & Link reads:
"Rhett and Link go behind the scenes at The Cheesecake Factory to find out how their massive menu got so big and how they manage to prepare it all from scratch. The guys also try their hand at cheesecake decoration and see the entire menu cooked up in front of them."
Reasons for The Cheesecake Factory 250-item menu explained
As Rhett and Link explore The Cheesecake Factory in Episode 3 of their show, they shall take it upon themselves to make a lot of the dishes from scratch. The duo will also explore the 250-item menu that got them intrigued to get behind secret doors to find out how the menu got this big over the years.
The Cheesecake Factory was started by the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer David Marshall Overton 40 years ago in Beverly Hills, California, primarily because his mother needed a place to sell her eponymous desserts. Initially, the menu was simple, sticking with burgers, salads, and sandwiches. In an interview with Thrillist, he said:
"At first, we really just wanted a menu that lived around the cheesecake. "I wasn't a chef... and I didn't want any chef we hired to walk out on me. So, I made sure that everything we served was something I could make myself."
Over time, the restaurant became more successful, and Overton realized he had a natural talent for cooking and running a restaurant. He also paid close attention to the dishes he ate at other restaurants and incorporated his version, catering to a fine dining style.
Overton worked on new menu items with a cook behind the kitchen. As they kept expanding the menu, people started reacting positively to them, which led to the restaurant receiving positive feedback. The founder then worried that another restaurant would take his business if he didn't add new items. He said:
"At this point, after a couple years, I was thinking that I didn't want this concept to run out.... We just kept putting things on the menu, that people seemed to like. Finally, I thought, 'Well, there's nothing that America wants that we shouldn't be able to put on the menu.' So, we just kept at it."
Every dish at The Cheesecake Factory is made from scratch. The restaurant has a double management setup "with regional managers for the 'front of the house,' and managers in the kitchen." Overton revealed the magic behind such detailed cooking and said:
"I don't think there's anyone who puts as much into training as we do. We have to. Our cooks are trained for three-to-four weeks, because they are going to have to cover such a broad menu, and make everything themselves. Everything is hard at the Cheesecake Factory, but that's what makes us so successful."
Overton confessed that they should have kept the menu smaller. The founder didn't expect the restaurant to blow up on this large scale to become a chain and that they would have to recreate the menu multiple times.
Catch Inside Eats with Rhett and Link to explore The Cheesecake Factory on Sunday, May 1, 2022, at 10:30 p.m. | 9:30c on Food Network. The show will also be streamed on Discovery+.
