Alum’s Passion Shows in Mini Cheesecake Creations

Henry McCants’ days are frenetic, to say the least. His passion and drive to succeed in life get him out of bed each morning at 3 a.m., plenty of time to get a head start on the day and to quickly assume his duties as food service director at CUNY’s York College in Queens.

But that’s not all that McCants, a White Plains native, has on his mind. This 1991 graduate of the SWBOCES Culinary Arts Program has had a hand in the creation of an exciting new business called McCants Mini Cheesecake.

Together with his brother Mike, a serial entrepreneur who owns a number of other successful businesses in Westchester, McCants is lending his culinary expertise to the business and putting a modern twist on a familiar dessert.

It’s not the usual six-inch creation that McCants is producing. The business is turning out individual four-ounce cheesecakes in a jar, creating the heavenly delights in 12 different flavors, including strawberry, blueberry, cookies ‘n cream, key lime, espresso, pumpkin, caramel and more.

While the brothers just celebrated the opening of their first cheesecake store in downtown White Plains Oct. 1, the desserts are actually made in Hana Kitchens, a Brooklyn-based bakery that provides a space for culinary entrepreneurs.

Before opening the store on Martine Avenue, the McCants sold the single serve cheesecake jars at area farmers’ markets and festivals. That attracted a lot of customers, he said, which then turned into an online business focusing on catering to special events.

Perfecting his Art

After a long day at York College, where he manages a staff of 24, McCants goes to work on a classic recipe that has his unique style written all over it. McCants often toils through the night making the cheesecake mixture and then baking it in a water bath, making sure to seal it while still hot.

It takes about eight minutes for the cheesecake mixture to cook, explained McCants, whose secret sauce ensures that the cheesecake mixture will set without drying out on top. What makes McCants’ cheesecakes different, he said, is that there is no topping included. Everything is infused.

Forever the perfectionist, McCants said that if he doesn’t like how the cheesecake mixture comes out the first time, he will simply make another batch. Describing the process of baking as “more chemistry and more challenging than cooking,” McCants said a good pastry chef will consider climate and other environmental conditions before baking.

In the end, McCants said a pastry chef’s finished product is a reflection of him or herself.

“You put out whatever you feel represents you,” said McCants, the father of four.

McCants, who is constantly dreaming up new flavors, gets plenty of help at the bakery from his brother and other family members, who aim to produce about 1,200 cheesecake jars a month.

At the store, where customers can avail of pastries, salads, sandwiches and gourmet coffee, the brothers keep a supply of jars in a nearby freezer.

Culinary Program Key to his Success

Longtime culinary instructor Gerry Murphy remembered McCants as being a “wonderful student and a fabulous person.”

McCants, 43, said the feeling is mutual when it comes to describing Murphy, who he said was a “dedicated teacher.”

“He always told us to cook with passion,” McCants recalled. “He would tell us, your signature is to make sure you put everything you have into it.”

And it’s obvious that Murphy’s advice stuck with McCants, who was not only successful while still a student at BOCES – winning 23 baking competitions, including a number of cake contests - but also at SUNY Cobbleskill, where he was a student and later an assistant teacher.

Showing up prepared to work long and hard and having a strong foundational knowledge of cooking and baking has contributed to McCants’ success. Throughout his 25-year career, he has worked in every part of the industry, including country clubs, restaurants, hotels and now schools.

In his current daytime position, McCants said he serves as a “very strict manager,” teaching his workers the importance of staying on top of an ever-changing industry, where food availability not only changes every six months but customers’ needs do, too.

“I care about what I put out. It represents me and my team,” he said.

Entrepreneurship is a natural extension of what McCants has been doing all along, he said. He added that his brother, who is also his business partner, was the one who pushed him to go in on the venture, which also involves the efforts of another brother, Chris.

McCants, who takes copious notes on the successes and sometimes failures he encounters each day, owes a lot to the foundation he received in Murphy’s classroom and from the BOCES program in general.

If he had the chance to mentor the current crop of BOCES culinary students, he would tell them to make themselves valuable and to take initiative.

“Gerry was my mentor,” said McCants. “I still chat with him often.”