#Blessed
The Blessed Braid’s authentic Brussels-style Belgian waffles are inspired by owner Cheryl Honig’s travels and are made fresh to order. Photo credit The Blessed Braid
Irvine’s very first kosher bakery is here. The Blessed Braid, run by Orange County native Cheryl Honig, is proving a delicious addition to Irvine’s culinary scene.
Opened last month, The Blessed Braid is a jewel box of a bake shop filled with dairy-free splendors. Enter to find small samples of baked goods tucked under cloches on an enormous table the bakery has dubbed “Welcome Island.” Beyond that, wide glass panes allow visitors to glimpse the busy bakery with its staff hard at work. Honig’s business looked very different when it began four years ago.
“The Jewish Collaborative of Orange County was asking us to find ways to benefit Jews in Orange County,” recalls Honig. “I couldn’t think of anything I could do. After the meeting, we went outside for a motzi and then I tried a bite of challah that was horrible and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I know how to make fantastic challah.”
Honig bought loaves of challah from all of the local grocery stores bakeries, and lined them up next to her own. After trying them all, she determined that hers was worthy of a business and applied for a license to bake within her home. Honig was selling her delicious challah all over Orange County, but the business was inconsistent. Her entrepreneurial journey came to a crossroads.
The Blessed Braid’s freshly baked bialys, topped with poppy seeds and onion, are a true rarity in OC. Photo credit The Blessed Braid
“You can keep your business little, or go big,” Honig thought at the time. She decided to go big. Through the Small Business Development Center, Honig connected with food restaurant entrepreneur Greg Bell. After months of recipe development to scale Honig’s personal treats for industrial production, the bakery was ready to serve up Irvine’s best kosher baked goods. The Blessed Braid sells a wide array of treats: classic chocolate chip cookies, rarities like the onion-topped savory bialy (the only place in OC to sell this doughy, savory, bagel-without-the-hole classic), and of course lots of challah.
“The challah is made from a secret recipe with seven ingredients,” says Honig. “The challah has no oil, no sugar, and no hard to pronounce ingredients. It’s all natural.”
The challah comes in varying sizes and flavors (marble chip, poppy seed, sesame seed, raisin, and traditional). Honig even sells a large and ornately designed Simcha Challah for special events like bar mitzvah and weddings.
In addition to Jewish recipes, Honig sells items inspired by her travels abroad. After living in Europe for a decade, Honig developed a fondness for classic Belgian waffles.
“When you go to the Grand-Place in Brussels, there are all these vendors making Belgian street waffles made with pearl sugar,” explains Honig. “You walk around on cold winter nights with a warm waffle in your hand. I had to bring that to my bakery.”
The Blessed Braid’s Belgian waffles are made to order for each customer, and the wait is well worth that crispy exterior and warm, soft interior. Irvine’s chilly January days are the perfect time to sample these outstanding waffles, along with all of Honig’s wonderful kosher treats.
Visit The Blessed Braid
Mon-Fri 9am to 3pm
Irvine Oaks Executive Park
16277 Laguna Canyon Road, Suite G
Irvine, CA 92618