Christina Tosi

This founder’s life goal was to become a translator in Florence. Then she started baking cookies and now her brand pulls in $20M a year.

After culinary school, Christina Tosi moved to NYC.

She was working 6 days a week at Bouley, doing editorial work at Saveur, helping out caterers, never saying no to anything.

Eventually, she landed at Momofuku… doing paperwork. Her title? “Et cetera.”

All she did was pretty much write safety manuals.

But she kept baking on the side.

Cookies, pies, wild mashups she’d bring in for the team.

Until one day, when David Chang told her: “You have to start making dessert.”

So she did.

In 2008, she opened a tiny bakery next to Ssäm Bar called Milk Bar.

The goal wasn’t to impress critics.

It was to make the kind of desserts people craved.

Like cereal milk soft-serve, unfrosted birthday cake, and something called a Compost Cookie.

It hit. Hard.

What started as a five-person team working 16-hour days grew into a national brand.

Today, Milk Bar has stores in NYC, LA, DC, Vegas, and more.

You’ll find her cookies in the grocery aisle.

You’ve probably seen her on Chef’s Table, MasterChef, Bake Squad, or The Bear.

She’s won two James Beard awards.

Written eight cookbooks.

Partnered with Taco Bell, Kellogg’s, Subaru, Estée Lauder, and Ben & Jerry’s (who, fun fact, dropped a cereal milk line that looked a little too familiar).

In 2023, she stepped down as CEO to focus on creativity and her growing family.

But she still bakes. Still writes. And she shares it all through her community: the Bake Club.