Through wonderful friends, Ali and I were introduced to Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery and the woman behind it, Umber. Both the baked goods and Umber are such inspirations that I think about them all the time. Not only is her food incredibly delicious, scrumptious, and heavenly, but Umber is also such an elegant, eloquent, composed, intelligent, and beautiful person. Umber ‘s success, happiness, and talent shine through, immediately wanting us to become friends with her. Both Ali and I fell head over heels for Mah-Ze-Dahr AND Umber!
Mah-Ze-Dahr is a bakery created by Umber and is a Tom Colicchio Discovery brand. Umber, taught at a young age that food is a language on its own, studied genetics and business. She spent much of her career in finance on Wall Street, and then moved to help luxury brands, chefs, and restaurateurs expand their concepts globally. She also started the bakery (the perfect combination of her talents — business, science, and culture!) with Colicchio, the chef/owner of Craft restaurants (as well as a Top Chef judge).
Umber. Isn’t she supermodel worthy? HOLY COW! (Photo taken by Vanessa Rees)
Umber and Tom. Again, another beautiful photo taken by Vanessa Rees.
In Urdu, the word mazedar describes the taste essence of food, its flavor and magic that make it delicious. As Umber describes, it is the “Je-ne-sais-quoi” that describes something wonderful. It is something that one cannot describe but wants to experience over and over again. And the items from Mah-Ze-Dahr are exactly that.
The simple brown box, logo and ribbon is classic and tasteful.
MY FAVORITE! I am still dreaming of this cheesecake. Made from sour cream and cream cheese, it is light fluffy and refreshing — who knew that cheesecake could be so light and airy?
A favorite, Mah-ze-dahr bars that were featured in Food & Wine Magazine an Editor’s Top Ten Pick (February 2013). This bar has an oatmeal cookie base topped with toasted pecans and chocolate bits and covered in a brown butter caramel sauce.
