David Liederman (March 15, 1949 – July 4, 2024) was an American chef and businessman. He is best known for creatingDavid's Cookies company (owned byFairfield Gourmet Foods Corporation as of 2015[update]),[1] which produces a line ofdesserts,baked goods andcookie dough.[2] He ceased to be associated with David's Cookies in 1996.
Liederman was born on March 15, 1949, inManhattan, New York.[3] He was the son of Adele Kaplan, director of theRutgers University Small Business Development Center's women division, and Donald E. Liederman, chairman and president of the Capital Energy Corporation, an‐oil drilling business based inBeverly Hills.[4] He had a brother named William. His parents divorced when he was three years old, and his brother was one year old.[3] He was raised inPrinceton, New Jersey.[3] Arthur Adlerstein, Liederman's stepfather, was a professor of psychology at Princeton University.[3] Liederman attended theHun School of Princeton.[3] Liederman attendedDenison University inGranville, Ohio, and later graduated fromState University of New York, college at Old Westbury, receiving a law degree.[3]
When he was 19, Liederman went to France, he met the Troisgros brothers, which led to his interest in finding a career preparing food.[3] He became the first American to work as a cook atTroisgros, aMichelin three-star restaurant inRoanne, France. Despite his work at Troisgros, Liederman still had no experience with culinary training.[3] While he was studying for a degree atBrooklyn Law School and clerking for JudgeMaxine Duberstein of the New Jersey State Supreme Court, he began taking classes at night in the culinary program at New York Technical College (now the New York City College of Technology) in downtownBrooklyn.[3]
In 1989, Liederman co-wroteRunning Through Walls, a book on how to do astartup. It includes recommendations for doing abusiness plan, raising money and business formation.[5]In 1990 David co-wrote a diet book calledDavid's Delicious Weight-Loss Program withfreelance writer Joan Schwartz.[6]In the mid-1990s Liederman opened a theme restaurant, Television City, inRockefeller Center.[3] The restaurant had an early days television motif and celebrity backing. Later in the 1990s he opened Chez Louis, anhomage to Antoine Magnin ofChez l'Ami Louis in Paris, which specializes inroastedchicken.
Starting with a $30,000 investment,[citation needed] he opened his first David's Cookies store inManhattan onSecond Avenue, near54th Street in 1979,[3] next door to Chez Louis.
Liederman built David's Cookies into a $35 million-a-year food retailer within six years.[3] As of 2015, David's Cookies had grown to 100 million-a-year.[citation needed] The batter is mixed inFairfield, New Jersey and the dough is sold to distributors.[citation needed] However, David's Cookies under Liederman's leadership would cease to thrive by the late 1980s, with numerous stores closing due to operating costs.[7] Liederman sold David's Cookies in 1996.[8] After being acquired by the New Jersey–based Fairfield Gourmet Foods Corp., David's Cookies evolved into a full line dessert supplier.[7]
Despite being more known for his cookie products, Liederman's passion was the restaurant world.[3] He would open various restaurants, including grills, throughout the state of New York.[3]
From 1994 up until his death in 2024, Liederman lived inKatonah, New York.[3] On June 19, 1979, he married Susan Richardson Vare, an actress,[4] with whom he had two daughters, Katie Liederman, a psychotherapist, and Elizabeth Liederman Rossi, who worked in marketing for theNew York Yankees.[3]
Liederman died inMount Kisco, New York, on July 4, 2024, at the age of 75.[3] According to his wife, his cause of death was a heart attack, though he was also being treated formyelofibrosis.[3]