Jewish bakery historian. It was he, 
in fact, who asked me to include the 
name of some of those beloved bakery 
owners from the past out of respect to 
their contributions. Blake’s a baker, but 
he’s also a mensch.
Among those Blake paid an hom-
age to were David and Leo Mertz of 
Mertz Bakery, Martin “Marty” Weiss 
of Modern Bakery, Charles “Charlie” 
Nicles of Miami Bakery and Hyman 
“Hy” Nerenberg of Jewel Bakery, all of 
blessed memory. Their delicacies still 
linger in the memories of our taste 
buds. 
I grew up on the seven-layer cake at 
Zeman’s on Greenfield, which to this 
day is still serving its Oak Park com-
munity and beyond.
Blake Weitzman is grateful to both 
Diamond and Star Bakeries, who at 
various times over the last few years 
have welcomed him with open arms, 
and pans and whisks — playing a piv-
otal role in nurturing Blake’s passion 
for baking Jewish pastries.
“I’ve learned so much from just 
watching their bakers,” Blake said. 
But he’s done a lot more than just 
observe. As he began to master some 
culinary techniques, the baked goods 
that Blake has had a hand in making at 
the bakeries have made their way into 
the display cases. 
“I was given the opportunity to 
make the mixes for sour cream cake, 
chocolate and yellow cake, fudge icing, 
Danishes, coffee cake doughs, butter 
cream and almond cookies, icebox 
cookie dough, just to name a few,” he 
said.
One of the bakers that Blake has 
had a special connection with was 
former owner of Diamond Bakery, 

Gina Rowley. Gina is not the original 
founder of Diamond, but her family 
has a long history with the store. Up 
until Gina sold the bakery to current 
owners Daniel Buckfire and David 
Schechter in 2022, it was owned and 
managed at different times for nearly 
40 years by her family, including her 
sister Donna Smielewski. 
It was evident in talking with Gina, 
who has since moved to Florida, 
that she cherished her time spent 
with Blake on the floury frontlines at 
Diamond.
“When I met Blake,” Gina said, “I 
had just sold the bakery but was still 
putting in some time there. He told me 
his grandfather used to bring him into 
the bakery to get little cookies. 
“From the moment I met him he 
was just curious about everything, 
the whole process — how do you do 
this, how do you do that, do you have 
any pictures? He did some of his own 
research and actually found out infor-
mation that I didn’t even know about,” 
she said. 
“He’s really very intelligent and 
just so young to have that passion. I 
loved offering him tips. He just soaked 
everything up like a sponge.” 
(Sponge? Hmmm, I wonder if Blake 
makes sponge cake? I’ll let you know.)
“Gina was so helpful, friendly and 
patient with me,” Blake said. “She not 
only gave me so many baking tips, but 
she also taught me the do’s and don’ts 
around a bakery and how to maintain 
the baking area properly. And she also 
reminded me to put out the best prod-
uct you can. Never settle for less than 
your best and stick with high-quality 
ingredients.”
 

BEYOND BAKING
It turns out that Blake’s equally pas-
sionate about cooking and it wouldn’t 
be surprising if some of his dishes 
found their way on to the family’s 
Rosh Hashanah dinner table. 
“Blake has made the best chick-
en soup I’ve ever had,” said Greg 
Weitzman. “He’s made it from scratch 
and not from a recipe. He made bris-
ket a few weeks back — he had two 
recipes and couldn’t decide which to 
make, so he made both. A couple of 
weeks ago he tried his first baked apri-
cot chicken, also amazing.”
Mashed potatoes and gravy and 
kreplach are also among the dishes 
Blake has prepared. Plus, he’s proud 
to have been given some help in the 
kitchen from his grandmothers who 
have shared some of their recipes.
“It’s really a blessing that Blake 
is able to share his passion with his 
grandmothers. Hopefully, he will carry 
these holiday food traditions into 
future Jewish holiday meals and cele-
brations,” Lindsey said.
I can’t think of any downside to hav-
ing a built-in baker in your household, 
other than the calories. Although Greg 
and Lindsey both agree that if Blake 
struggles with one part of baking, it’s 
the clean-up. “Nobody can make a 
mess like Blake!” Greg said.
With Blake baking during the High 
Holidays, one thing is for certain, the 
Weitzman family is most definitely in 
for a sweet New Year. 

For more history about Detroit’s great bakeries 

over the years, look up Esther Allweiss Ingber’s 

Feb. 24, 2022, column and Mike Smith’s July 

19, 2023, feature in the DJN William Davidson 

Foundation Archives (digital.bentley.umich.edu/

djnews).

OCTOBER 3 • 2024 | 37
J
N

LEFT TO RIGHT: Blake prepares the batter for a variety of marble and honey loaf cakes. Blake’s assortment of small cookies. Loaf 
cakes hot out of the oven. 

A Q & A with the 
Culinary Kid

Alan: “Do you see yourself as a 
professional baker one day?” 
Blake: “No, I’m thinking maybe 
of becoming a lawyer.”

Alan: “Well, there’s dough in 
that too. (Sorry) You make so 
many things, is there anything 
you don’t like?” 
Blake: “I love baking with honey 
but, believe it or not, I’m not a 
huge fan of the taste myself.” 

Alan: “Well, I guess you won’t 
be dipping any apples into 
honey during Rosh Hashanah.
And what about your sister, 
Aria, 11, is she a big fan of your 
baking?” 
Blake: “Sometimes,” Blake 
said hesitantly while laughing. 
“Actually, she does have a 
favorite … my cinnamon pastry 
sticks.”

Alan: “If I owned a bakery, 
there’s no doubt I would eat 
up the profits. Is it tempting for 
you to constantly nibble on your 
creations?” 
Blake: “I bake once a week and 
make so many things that eat-
ing it all doesn’t appeal to me 
like it used to.” 

Alan: “I certainly can’t relate 
to that. Do you bake for other 
holidays?” 
Blake: “I’ve made hundreds, if 
not thousands of hamantaschen 
for Purim, donuts for Chanukah, 
macaroons for Passover, and 
I’ve baked pumpkin pie for 
Thanksgiving.” 

Alan: “Are you still learning new 
tricks of the trade? Is there any-
thing you still want to master?” 
Blake: “I haven’t perfected 
making challah yet. I find it one 
of the hardest things to do. You 
have to make sure the yeast 
proofs properly and trying to 
braid the bread is really chal-
lenging for me.” 

