For Umber Ahmad, food has always offered a way to understand people. The founder of Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery grew up in Marquette, where her Pakistani family’s traditions met the Scandinavian baking she learned from a Finnish caretaker she called Gram.
“I found food helped me understand different cultures and my own place in the world,” she has said. Michigan speech was another part of those years: she represented Marquette Senior High School in Extemporaneous Speaking at three MIFA State Finals.
Room for more than one interest
Ahmad began playing violin as a young child and performed as a touring soloist in her teens. Her education took her to MIT to study genetics, the University of Michigan for a master’s in public health and Wharton for an MBA.
She worked in investment banking and private equity before founding an advisory firm. One of her clients was chef Tom Colicchio. After tasting a cake she made for a friend’s birthday, he encouraged her to pursue the baking more seriously.
Mah-Ze-Dahr
Ahmad started selling baked goods from her apartment in 2013. She chose an Urdu name for the business, Mah-Ze-Dahr, that evokes the particular quality that makes food delicious. A storefront in New York’s West Village followed in 2016.
In 2019 the bakery was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Baker award. The business grew from something personal: recipes, family memories and the pleasure of sharing food. It is a lovely chapter in the story of a former Marquette Extemp competitor.
On record
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