Orange County’s First Kosher Retail Bakery Scheduled to Open in Irvine

The Blessed Braid Owner, Cheryl Honig

Good news for Irvine residents! The City will soon have a local bakery filled with traditional Jewish baked goods like kichel, kamishbroyt, challah, bialy, and honey cake.

The Blessed Braid is preparing to open the County’s first kosher-certified retail bakery, which will serve creatively authentic kosher non-dairy baked goods.

Irvine Community News & Views recently reached out to the bakery’s owner, Cheryl Honig, to find out how The Blessed Braid came about.

Honig told us: “Several years ago while sitting in Rosh Hashanah services and listening to the Rabbi explain the importance of involvement in the Jewish community, I started wondering how I could be helpful, and what skills I possessed that would be beneficial. At the conclusion of the service, I took a piece of the traditional challah bread. It only took me one bite to realize that it tasted terrible and my calling was to make a much better version. That was the spark that flamed the creation of my bakery.”

For the past two years, Honig has been baking challahs in her home kitchen that is permitted by the County of Orange Health Department as a “Cottage Food Class A” business.

In late December, The Blessed Braid will open here in Irvine. When it does, it will be the County’s first kosher-certified bakery.

To learn more, visit the website TheBlessedBraid.com.