Breaking Bread: How Christina Tosi Made Dessert a Movement
Kicking off a brand-new season and launching our first-ever video episode, Breaking Precedent returns with a powerful conversation between host Leah Solivan and Christina Tosi, founder of Milk Bar. Christina traces her journey from baking cookies with her grandmothers in Ohio to becoming one of the most influential pastry chefs and entrepreneurs in the country. Leah and Christina unpack their shared experiences as introverts navigating high-pressure environments, the mentors who shaped their paths, and the creative process behind Milk Bar’s iconic recipes like the Compost Cookie and Crack Pie. Christina opens up about building a business during the 2008 financial crisis, the role of constraints in driving creativity, and what it takes to scale a brand while protecting its soul and culture.
Christina Tosi is a pastry chef, entrepreneur, and founder of Milk Bar, the beloved dessert brand known for its nostalgic yet innovative creations like Cereal Milk, Compost Cookies, and Milk Bar Pie. Raised in Ohio by generations of strong, creative women, Christina learned early the joy of making something out of nothing—a philosophy that would later define her career.
Listeners can learn more about Christina Tosi at milkbarstore.com and on Instagram @christinatosi and @milkbarstore.
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer
Show Notes:
00:00 Introduction to Breaking Precedent
01:00 First meeting and shared experiences
02:00 Introversion and social challenges
02:37 “Your destiny is impossible to miss by definition of it being your destiny.” — Christina Tosi
03:00 Scorpio connection and business beginnings
04:00 Swapping jobs and TaskRabbit
07:30 Childhood and baking origins
12:00 Family influence and career choices
26:00 Culinary school and early career
34:00 Starting a tradition: family meal desserts
36:00 The birth of Crack Pie
39:00 From simple recipes to Milk Bar
45:00 Launching Milk Bar during a financial crisis
52:00 Scaling Milk Bar: challenges and creativity
57:00 Nostalgia and innovation in desserts
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Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.
Connect with Leah:
Website: breakingprecedent.com/
Instagram: @labunleashed