Long ago, in Long Island, New York, a young Blake Warman fell in love with dessert. He began baking and discovered a passion for transforming flour, sugar, and eggs into a feast for the senses. He shared his creations with loved ones—finding an eager audience of taste testers and refining his recipes in the process.
Warman enrolled in the University of Miami, where his baking enterprise began to take shape as classmates increasingly asked him to cater events and gatherings with his signature cookies. He founded The Blakery, where he produces the most creatively delicious cookies.
We recently sat down with Warman to learn how he took his operations from Walsh Tower, where he lived on campus, to an e-commerce empire based in Miami’s Brickell area.
How did you make the leap from baking for fun to starting your own baking business?
I started baking for friends. Gradually, people from all over campus started coming to my door asking for cookies. That’s what first put me on the map. Then people started asking me to cater events for their sororities and things like that, so I started making deliveries all over campus, which was really fun.
At first, I was just baking because I loved desserts. Then it became an outlet for my creativity. Then it evolved into this whole journey of entrepreneurship.
What’s something people may not realize about starting a business?
You need to eat, sleep, and bleed for the business you’re creating. If you’re not passionate about what you’re building, you will not make it.
I think about my business all the time. When I go to sleep, I dream about my business.
It’s hard work. I’m often lugging hundreds of pounds of sugar and butter. I’m always going to Restaurant Depot. I’m doing the administrative work; I’m meeting with my ad people; I’m doing the baking, packing, and shipping. It’s constant. It’s important to realize that you cannot become successful overnight.
That being said, I don’t think I could have lived with myself if I hadn’t at least tried. I needed to know that I tried to become successful at this and that I gave it my all or else I’d always wonder.
And I believe that with enough perseverance, passion, and faith in a good product, you will be successful. That idea really keeps me going, even at times when I feel beaten down or tired.
What does it feel to put your own product out into the world?
I feel a lot of pride, not only to have created something that I’ve always dreamed of making but also to witness my own resilience as I continue to evolve the business and grow alongside it. I also love getting to see people’s reactions to what I bake. I feel like there’s so much going on in the world, so much stress, that I want to give people a moment of pure bliss. I want to create an opportunity for people to enjoy themselves and feel good with a great cookie, which is why I make sure to use good ingredients and a lot of high-quality chocolate.
You were recently a contestant on “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars,” where he and Lisa Vanderpump search for the next great culinary entrepreneur. What was that experience like? What’s something that the viewer might not know about competing on a cooking show?
It was one of the craziest experiences of my life, definitely of 2024. I challenged myself this year to branch out of my comfort zone, which this show certainly helped me do. It filmed in London. I was proud to be recognized by the show, but I was also very grateful to find lifelong friends there.
Sometimes entrepreneurship can feel really lonely, because friends can’t necessarily relate to me in terms of owning a business or the challenges that it entails. I'm very thankful to the show for introducing me to incredible people in similar situations to mine.
As for something people may not realize… There wasn’t much interaction with Gordon and Lisa themselves. And it’s honestly a lot of sitting around and waiting. And I don’t want to give too much away, but contestants really are thrown into the challenges without much of a clue as to what’s going to happen.
How did the University of Miami help to shape your entrepreneurial journey?
The University of Miami was pivotal in my growth as an entrepreneur, from the marketing classes and advertising classes I took to the teachers who guided me, like Jasper Nelissen, Susy Alvarez-Diaz, and Amy Agramonte.
I’m still close with members of the faculty to this day and reach out to them for advice. Some professors have actually used my business as an example for class projects in which students create their own businesses’ pitches.
I’ve also had the opportunity to return to campus to talk about my business to students, which I’m always super excited to do. I hope that I can show students that building their own empire can be something within reach for young people and relatable. It’s not just something only established grownups can do.
It’s nice to still have that connection to the U. It feels like going back to my roots. Maybe one day I can bring The Blakery back to the University.
If you had to give one piece of advice, what would it be?
All you can do in life is give it your all and hope for the best. I often had no idea what I was doing. I still say I have no idea what I'm doing, but I figure it out. There will be bumps in the road, but every opportunity is either a learning experience or a great place to grow, and if you don’t make the most of the opportunities you’re given, you run the risk of staying stagnant and always wondering what would have happened if you tried.
Where can we follow your journey? Which cookie makes your mouth water?
You can follow @theblakery on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. You can view our cookie catalogue for catering or delivery on TheBlakery.co.
This month we have a special Halloween-themed batch of cookies that I’m excited about—the Spooktacular Collection, comprising a pumpkin spice cookie, white chocolate macadamia cookie, Twix-themed cookie, Butterfinger-themed cookie, dirt cup cookie, and a kitchen sink cookie, which is a vanilla cookie topped with pretzels, blonde caramel chips, a Heath Bar, and peanut M&Ms. Highly recommend!
