gretchen Kopmanis - YPSILANTI, MI

From baking with her grandma to making cookies and getting oranges from her grandparents in her stocking, GRETCHEN KOPMANIS was motivated to start Czechbox Bakery. Gretchen’s nut rolls and poppy seed rolls are a constant favorite and other baked goods are seasonal.  She will also have Czech Bublanina (Bubble Cake) and Latvian Aleksandrs Cake, which was translated from a family recipe that won the 2019 Zingerman’s Cookie Contest. It’s a layered shortbread cookie with a filling of red currant and raspberry jam with lemon icing. Her personal favorite is Latvian honey and almond bars, but her booth is full of other specialty baked Czech treats.  Gretchen continues to resurrect Eastern European heritage recipes.