B a k e r · T e a c h e r · M o m

Some of my happiest times have been spent in a kitchen. I remember my grandmother layering phyllo with butter for baklava, and my grandfather browning vermicelli for rice and sneaking me pistachio halva before dinner. I remember baking Christmas cookies for my family and pies for Thanksgiving. Birthdays, holidays, and get-togethers were always celebrated with food, and they still are.

I've been baking for as long as I can remember. My family made a big deal out of holidays and who would cook what, but dessert usually came from the store. When I was a young teenager, I decided dessert would be my job, and I loved it. A few years later I started working in restaurants, and over the years I've done nearly every job there is. That work taught me how a kitchen should run, how to handle food safely, and how to take care of the people I'm serving. Later I moved from food to wine and earned my Level 2 certification from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. Studying wine taught me to pay attention to balance, aroma, and the way a single ingredient can change everything, and I try and bring that same attention to every cookie and cake.

I’m also a certified teacher, and I spent six years teaching elementary school. The classroom taught me patience, how to break a big task into small steps, and how much kids light up when they make something with their own hands. Baking is full of the same lessons: measuring, following directions, waiting for something good, and sharing it when it’s done. Someday I’d love to bring those two worlds together in this kitchen.

The name Copper Oven Kitchen is a little bit of a lie: I don't have a copper oven. What mattered to me was the feeling it evokes. It's the warm, earthy color of the Mediterranean, of terracotta and well-loved cookware. Traveling through Europe, I fell for the small, owner-run shops where someone who cared made things by hand. That's the kind of place I want this to be.

Most of what I make starts with something familiar, like a chocolate chip cookie or a snickerdoodle, and turns it toward home. Tahini in place of peanut butter. Warm baharat where you'd expect cinnamon. Something you already know you love, with a flavor that's a little more interesting than you expected.

I bake from my home in Apache Junction, one small batch at a time: my own take on the flavors I grew up loving, plus flavors from around the world that you may have grown up loving too. I hope they find a place at your table.

— Jessica