NOVEMBER 5 • 2020 | 37
NOSH
EATS | DRINKS | SWEETS
T
he recently opened Culinary
Combo Bakery in Southfield not
only puts the talents of a Metro area
mother and daughter on display, but the
business venture is also bringing healing to
their family.
Bakery partner Jodie Polk, 56, of
Commerce Township formerly operated
a catering company, Culinary Combo,
with her late husband, Jim Polk. They
met at the Oakland Community College
Culinary Studies Institute. A professional
baker, Jodie was a pastry chef with Muer
Corp. before joining forces in 1988 with
Chef Jim. She gradually moved their busi-
ness toward filling gift baskets with baked
goods.
Following the example of her mother,
the late Rosalind Weisberg, Jodie intro-
duced the Polk children, Jessica and Justin,
to cooking and baking as children.
“Some of my best childhood memories
are of helping my parents make dough or
putting together baskets during the holiday
season,” said Jessica Barris, 26, who lives
in Berkley with her husband, Neil Barris.
Jessica recalled how three generations of
her family would “put on our aprons and
roll up our sleeves to get thousands of
cookies baked and baskets assembled.”
After Jim passed away two years ago
from pancreatic cancer, Jodie questioned
whether she could continue Culinary
Combo. Then cousins in commercial real
estate and other friends provided support
for her to start the bakery — the Polks’
longtime dream.
“Jessica stepped forward to say, ‘
Mom,
I want to be your partner,’
” said Jodie.
“Truthfully, I never realized she had any
interest in the business, but I could not
pass up the opportunity to work side-by-
side with my daughter.”
Open since Oct. 27, Culinary Combo
Bakery is on the reverse side of the
Claymoor Apartments’
entrance. The loca-
tion on Franklin Road, near Northwestern
Highway, is close to Jodie’
s former business
clientele.
Starting with its reputation for creat-
ing decorative and unique gift baskets,
Culinary Combo Bakery offers made-
from-scratch baked goods. The Claymoor,
an oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips
and toffee bits, and fudgy brownies, are
delicious specialties. Keto-friendly and
nut-free and gluten-free options are avail-
able, although everything is made in a
facility utilizing dairy, eggs, soy, gluten and
nuts. The bakery caters to Jewish tastes
with rugaleh but isn’
t certified kosher.
In addition to baking, Jessica, a trained
product photographer, also manages mar-
keting, social media and photography for
the business.
She, Neil and Jodie, are members
of West Bloomfield’
s Temple Israel.
Jodie sends out tributes for the temple’
s
Sisterhood. Since Jim’
s passing, the family
has been involved with Pancreatic Cancer
Action Network, and Jodie attended a
spousal bereavement group at Gilda’
s Club
in Royal Oak.
Working closely with her daughter at the
bakery, Jodie said they “truly enjoy collab-
orating with one another and at this point,
as we are finally seeing the dream through,
neither of us can imagine doing this with
anyone else.”
Culinary Combo Bakery now open.
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Sweet Treats
C li
C
b
B k
C li
C
b
B k
Sweet Treats
A sample of the treats
available at Culinary
Combo Bakery
Jodie Polk and her
daughter Jessica Barris
Bakery hours are 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-
Friday, and until 1 p.m. Saturday. Local
delivery is available for $12 with 24 hours’
notice.
Culinary Combo Bakery
29260 Franklin Road
Southfield
(248) 624-9594
theculinarycombo.com