Santiago Rivera, 65, Hands La Viña Cheesecake Empire to His 2 Children
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 27
Santiago Rivera, 65, Hands La Viña Cheesecake Empire to His 2 Children
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 27
Santiago Rivera, 65, is retiring from La Viña in San Sebastián and passing the restaurant and cheesecake business to his son and daughter.
Nearly 40 years ago, Rivera created the now-global Burnt Basque Cheesecake by dropping the bottom crust and baking it hotter, producing its scorched top.
La Viña has since become a tourist draw, with crowds lining up for slices of the dessert widely credited with helping spread the Basque cheesecake craze worldwide.
Rivera, who says he actually prefers chocolate, leaves behind a family-run business built from a small local restaurant into an international culinary phenomenon.
With its creator retiring, will the secret to the world's most famous cheesecake change with the next generation?
How did a crustless cheesecake from a Spanish bar become a global empire fueled by Instagram?