Top 10 Takeover dining series: How to get tickets for Ferndale's Secret Bakery

Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press

A menu highlighting the history of how grain varieties like wheat, barley, oats and rye emerged and were cultivated through the ages will be showcased on the next stop in the Detroit Free Press and Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers popular Top 10 Takeover dining series.

On May 23, the fourth stop in the series features Ferndale's Secret Bakery, where owner Maxwell Leonard will share fresh baking practices from the past, present and future.

A basket of baguettes is ready for sale as Maxwell Leonard prepares a variety of breads for the day at his shop There is No Secret Bakery on Livernois Street in Ferndale on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. The bakery is owned by Maxwell Leonard and is open Wednesdays from 10am-3pm and Saturdays from 9am to 2pm.
A basket of baguettes is ready for sale as Maxwell Leonard prepares a variety of breads for the day at his shop There is No Secret Bakery on Livernois Street in Ferndale on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. The bakery is owned by Maxwell Leonard and is open Wednesdays from 10am-3pm and Saturdays from 9am to 2pm.

Leonard started Secret Bakery in 2018 in his Hamtramck home kitchen before eventually finding a permanent space at 821 Livernois St. in Ferndale.

Secret Bakery was noted for its speakeasy feel and menu of fresh breads with a European flair that landed it at No. 9 on the 2024 Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Top 10 New Restaurants & Dining Experiences list.

"It's hard to keep Leonard’s breads and pastries a secret," Free Press dining critic Lyndsay c. Green wrote of Secret Bakery. "In a world where packaged rolls and sliced bread have become household kitchen staples, the presence of a bakery that serves bread so fresh that it’ll scorch your fingertips as the chef hands it over is a welcome addition."

Maxwell Leonard applies an egg wash to a pastry at his shop There is No Secret Bakery located at 821 Livernois Street in Ferndale on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.
Maxwell Leonard applies an egg wash to a pastry at his shop There is No Secret Bakery located at 821 Livernois Street in Ferndale on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.

The concept of the May 23 dinner is to follow the story of grain as it parallels the development of civilization. Humans have relied on cultivating grains like wheat, barley, oats and rye to allow for cities and towns to emerge out of the agrarian age into our modern industrialized world. The story of how we grow, process, and consume these foods has a lot to tell us about where we've come from and where we are headed.

More: No. 9: Secret Bakery brings a speakeasy bread shop to Ferndale

More: No. 9: Secret Bakery brings a speakeasy bread shop to Ferndale

How to get tickets

Tickets for the Top 10 Takeover dining series go on sale every other Thursday, when Free Press subscribers have first access to tickets for each event.

Subscribers should check their email at noon Thursday for a link to ticket sales. Following subscriber sales, tickets for the general public go on sale at noon Friday at freep.com/top10, where you will also find a schedule of upcoming dining events.

There will be limited seating with just one session at 7 p.m. Tickets are $39 per person, which includes tax and gratuity with communal seating.

Each ticket price also includes a $3 donation to Forgotten Harvest. The Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers also offer a contest for a chance for one diner to win two complimentary tickets to each dinner of the series. You can enter the contest at chevydetroit.com.

The Detroit Free Press and Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers unveiled the 2024 Restaurant of the Year, Restaurant of the Year Classic and 10 Best New Restaurants and Dining Experiences in March.

The series is celebrating its 10th anniversary of delighting diners with food and drink experiences.

Secret Bakery Top 10 Takeover menu:

More: Burnt wheat cookies: A recipe from Secret Bakery, No. 9 among Top 10 Dining Experiences

1st courseAntiquity – Einkorn Bread and Honey

2nd courseMedieval Times – Braised Barley with Roasted Vegetables

3rd courseIndustrial Age – Coq au Vin Stew with Fresh Baguette**Vegetarian Option – Eggplant Tomato Stew with Fresh Baguette

4th courseModern Era – Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Top 10 Takeover at Secret Bakery: How to get tickets

Advertisement